ICTSI net income swells 26% to P1.32B in 1st 9 months

Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said its net profit grew 26 percent in the first nine months of the year to P1.32 billion on higher contributions from its international operations.

Based on its financial report filed with securities regulators, ICTSI said gross revenues increased 13 percent to P8.55 billion from P7.59 billion.

Of the total, P6.26 billion accounted for revenues from port operations, 13 percent higher than the previous level’s P5.52 billion.

ICTSI said foreign operations contributed 50 percent to net earnings. However, the growing contribution from international operations combined with the recent strength in the peso exchange rate dampened the company’s reported earnings growth in peso terms.

"ICTSI has had an excellent quarter. Container handling volumes at our international units continue to grow strongly, and we are seeing positive volume growth at our Manila terminal for the first time in several quarters," ICTSI chairman and chief executive officer Enrique K. Razon Jr. said.

Razon said the company with a $120 million standby credit facility, "is well positioned to seize opportunities in today’s global marketplace to further strengthen its operations."

ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 530,302 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) during the third quarter, 15 percent higher compared to the 459,613 TEUs handled in the third quarter of 2005. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2006, total TEUs handled were 1,448,074 compared to 1,368,287 TEUs in 2005, an increase of six percent.

Domestic operations accounted for 312,188 TEUs handled, or 59 percent of consolidated volumes, for the quarter in review.

Volume for the quarter was slightly higher than the third quarter of 2005 and three percent higher than the previous quarter this year.

Foreign container volume, on the other hand, grew 45 percent over last year on account of new volume from the company’s Madagascar and Indonesia port operations, and strong results at the company’s Polish and Brazilian units.

Foreign container volume now account for 41 percent of total as compared with 33 percent in the third quarter last year.

In the third quarter, ICTSI’s net profit went up by 25 percent to P464 million from only P370 million.

Gross revenues improved by 16 percent to P3.02 billion from only P2.61 billion, due largely to a combination of revenues from new port operations and increasing yields resulting from a more favorable volume mix.

Total consolidated cash operating expenses in the third quarter increased by 14 percent to P1.09 billion, from P960 million in the third quarter of 2005 due principally to additional expenses from new port operations in Madagascar, Indonesia and Japan, higher fuel and utilities expenses at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and higher project development expenses of subsidiary ICTSI Ltd.

In the third quarter, ICTSI invested P365 million to continue to expand the handling capacity and improve the operating efficiency of the company’s operations in Manila, Poland, Brazil and Madagascar.

In July this year, ICTSI was declared winner in the privatization of the Tartous Container Terminal in the port city of Tartous, Syria. To date, the company has invested a total of P1.31 billion in capital expenditure and new acquisitions.