ICTSI income up 15% in Q1

MANILA, Philippines -  Earnings of publicly-listed port giant International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) rose 15 percent in the first quarter of the year on the back of higher volumes amid growing international and domestic trade.

In a statement, ICTSI reported that the company’s net income attributable to equity holders amounted to $40.7 million from January to March this year compared to $35.4 million in the same period last year.

The company’s revenue from port operations jumped 20 percent to $209.3 million from $173.8 million while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) surged 27 percent to $97.5 million from $76.7 million.

ICTSI attributed the increase to the 12 percent rise in consolidated volume handled to 1.496 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first quarter of the year from 1.338TEUs handled in the same period last year.

“The increase in volume was mainly due to the continuous growth in international and domestic trade in most of the company’s terminals and the volume generated by the new terminal operations in Jakarta, Indonesia and Karachi, Pakistan,” the company said. 

It added that organic volume growth would have been flat if the volume from the two recent port acquisitions and the effect of the cessation of the operations in Syria last January were excluded.

Terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Ecuador, Madagascar, China, and Pakistan accounted for 79 percent of the ICTSI’s consolidated volume and 85 percent of the consolidated revenues in the first quarter.

ICTSI said the increase in revenues from port operations was mainly due to higher storage revenues and ancillary services, favorable volume mix, tariff rate increases in certain key terminals, and the revenue contribution from the new terminals in Jakarta, Indonesia and Karachi, Pakistan. 

Consolidated cash operating expenses in the first quarter grew 15 percent to $84.6 million from $73.8 million on the back of higher volume-related expenses including on-call labor, fuel, power and repairs and maintenance as well as government-mandated and contracted salary rate increases in certain terminals, and the inclusion of the expenses of the new terminals in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Karachi, Pakistan. 

Excluding the cash operating expenses of the new terminals as well the impact of the cessation of the company’s operation in Syria, total cash operating expenses would have increased by only six percent. 

Consolidated financing charges and other expenses for the quarter increased 33 percent to $12.6 million from $9.5 million primarily due to higher outstanding interest-bearing debt after it issued $400 million of 10-year bonds in January mainly to fund its capital expenditure program for 2013 and refinance medium-term loans. 

ICTSI spent $93 million for its capital expenditures in the first three months of the year accounting for about 17 percent of the total full year budget of $550 million. The amount was used to complete its terminal development projects in Argentina and Mexico and the ramp-up of construction activities in Colombia and Davao, southern Philippines. 

ICTSI is a leading port management company involved in the operations and development of 27 marine terminals and port projects in 19 countries worldwide.  The company was among the first international terminal operators to take its expertise overseas.