ICTSI raises P4.7 billion from sale of shares

MANILA, Philippines — International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has raised P4.7 billion from the sale of 40 million common shares of the corporation from its treasury.

ICTSI said proceeds of the share sale would be used to fund general corporate purposes, including committed capital expenditures and acquisitions.

The company said the offering was well-received and oversubscribed by high quality foreign and local institutional investors.

The offering marks ICTSI’s first equity follow-on offering since 2013.

The 40 million treasury shares were sold at a price of P117 apiece, representing a 3.9 percent discount to the closing share price on the date it was sold last Nov. 25.

“This opportunistic reissuance of our treasury shares culminates the execution of the capital management strategy that we conveyed to investors in early April,” ICTSI senior vice president and chief financial officer Rafael Consing Jr. said.

“With $800 million raised in senior debt, hybrid equity, and common shares from both existing and new stakeholders, ICTSI enters 2021 focused on a five-year horizon through the same lens of achieving growth organically and through value-accretive acquisitions,” he said.

Despite falling victim to the wrath of the pandemic in recent months due to lower trade activities worldwide, the global port giant   expects to end the year on a positive note.

Consing earlier told The STAR that the company expects to end the year with improved EBITDA margins across the portfolio from cost savings and efficiency, which will result in consolidated earnings closely matching our operating earnings 2019.

He said ICTSI also continues to search for opportunities to further expand its portfolio.

ICTSI currently operates 31 terminals in 19 countries globally.

Its portfolio of terminals and projects are located in developed and emerging market economies in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In the nine-months ending September, the firm reported a one percent decline in its net income to $184.9 million as revenue from port operations finished 0.3 percent lower year-on-year to $1.10 billion.

For the third quarter alone, however, ICTSI was able to post a 23 percent increase in net income to $69.2 million from $56.4 million in the same three-month period in 2019 as revenue from port operations during the quarter rose seven percent year-on-year to $379.3 million.

The company attributed the improved third quarter performance to improvements in global trade, its diversified portfolio, and high levels of customer service.