ICTSI income soars 83% to $42.4 million

MANILA, Philippines - Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) posted an 83 percent increase in its consolidated net income to $42.4 million during the first half of 2010, from $23.2 million in the same period last year.

First half revenues from port operations stood at $246.9 million, an increase of 31 percent over the $188.8 million reported last year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 49 percent to $118.7 million, from $79.9 million generated in the same period in 2009.

Company officials attributed the higher net income to the upsurge in revenues, modest increase in cash operating expense, and lower effective tax rate for the period.

For the second quarter this year, revenues from port operations increased 32 percent, from $96 million to $126.3 million. EBITDA was up 50 percent, from $41.5 million to $62.1 million, and net income attributable to equity holders grew 61 percent from $12.2 million to $19.6 million.

The second quarter net income included an acceleration of $2.9 million of unamortized debt issue cost associated with the loans that were prepaid during the quarter as part of the company’s liability management exercise. Excluding this accelerated debt issue cost charge, net income should have increased to $21.6 million or 78 percent more compared to the same period in 2009.

ICTSI chairman and president Enrique Razon Jr. noted that the strong recovery in throughput volumes experienced in the first quarter has continued and, combined with their continued focus on cost control, resulted in record financial results for the first half of the year. “We also took further steps to secure long term funding to facilitate further expansion of our worldwide portfolio,” he said.

ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 2.1 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first half of 2010, 26 percent higher compared to the 1.7 million TEUs handled in the same period in 2009. The increase in volume was mainly due to the continued upturn in international trade, particularly in markets where ICTSI’s ports are located.  

Compared to the 1.7 million TEUs handled in the first six months of 2008, the highest first half throughput level recorded until this year, the group’s consolidated volume for the first half of 2010 was higher by 14 percent.  For the quarter ending June 2010, total TEUs handled stood at 1.05 million, compared to 834,188 TEUs in 2009.

Throughput from the company’s container terminal operations in Asia increased 28 percent to 1.3 million TEUs in the first six months of 2010, from 1.008 million TEUs in the same period in 2009. The group’s container terminal operations in Asia, which accounted for 64 percent of consolidated volumes in the first half of 2010, demonstrated exceptional performance in the first half with all operating terminals registering double-digit increases in volumes handled.

For the second quarter of 2010, throughput from the group’s Asian operations grew 27 percent to 678,536 TEUs, from 533,303 TEUs in the same period in 2009.

Revenue contribution from container terminal operations in Asia increased 39 percent, from $95.3 million in 2009 to $132 million in the first half of 2010. Revenues from its port operations in Asia accounted for 53 percent of the first half’s consolidated gross revenue, as compared to 51 percent in the first half of 2009. For the second quarter of 2010, operations in Asia posted a strong revenue contribution growth of 40 percent at $69.2 million, compared to $49.6 million during the same period in 2009.