ICTSI earnings up 27% to P1.67B in first 9 months

Global port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said  its net income grew 27 percent in the first nine months of the year to P1.67 billion from  P1.31 billion in the same period a year ago, boosted by higher sales from foreign operations.

In a statement, ICTSI said revenues amounted to P10.9 billion during the January to September period this year, up 23.86 percent from the year earlier’s P8.8 billion. 

In the third quarter  alone, ICTSI’s net earnings rose 35 percent to P626.55 million on revenues of P4.36 billion, an increase of 41 percent from the previous level.

International operations accounted for 63 percent of the company’s net earnings for the third quarter.

“ICTSI has delivered another strong quarter of solid performance. Our four main terminals in Manila, Poland, Brazil and Madagascar all generated outstanding results which were somewhat masked by one-time start-up and transition costs at our new terminal in Guayaquil, Ecuador and losses at our terminal in Yantai, China as we continue to transition that facility from domestic to international cargo,” said ICTSI chairman and president Enrique K. Razon Jr.

“ We are focused on bringing our expanding stable of newer terminals up to the same levels of profitability as our more mature operations which should add further upside to our earnings,”  he added.

Consolidated volume handled during the first nine months stood at 2.095 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 45 percent from 1.448 million TEUs last year, largely driven by the 71.1 percent growth in the volume of  foreign operations.

In the third quarter, ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 811,049 TEUs, up 53 percent. Domestic operations accounted for 51 percent of consolidated volumes, a 32 percent increase over the volumes handled a year ago, while foreign container volume jumped 82 percent on account of high volume growths in Brazil, Poland and Madagascar, combined with new volume handled by new subsidiaries in China and Ecuador.

During the nine-month period, ICTSI has invested P9 billion to fund capacity expansion in Manila, Brazil and Madagascar, and new businesses/start-up costs in China, Syria, Ecuador, Colombia and Georgia.

Last March, ICTSI acquired a 60-percent stake in Yantai Rising Dragon International Container  Ltd. In July, ICTSI concluded on agreement to commence the construction and development of a multi-user container terminal at the Port of Buenaventura in Colombia.

Wholly-owned unit Contecon Guayaquil S.A. commenced operations at the Port of Guayaquil, Ecuador last August.

In September, ICTSI, through another wholly-owned subsidiary ICTSI Ltd, acquired a new concession to develop and operate a container terminal and a ferry and dry bulk handling facility in the Port of Batumi, in the former Russian state of Georgia.