Philippines port operator sees revenue lift, lower profit

MANILA – International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), the Philippines-headquartered global developer, manager and operator of container terminals across six continents, has reported a 9% increase to US$325.4 million in revenue from port operations for the quarter ended March 31.

However, net income attributable to equity holders was down 15% to US$44.1 million due to drag from new terminals, including in Melbourne, ICTSI said. 

ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 2,325,540 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for the quarter, up 2% year-on-year, mainly, it said, due to continuous improvement in global trade activities particularly in the emerging markets, continuing ramp-up at ICTSI Iraq, and ICTSI Democratic Republic of Congo (IDRC), and contributions from Victoria International Container Terminal and South Pacific International Container Terminal Limited, the Company’s new terminals in Melbourne, Australia and Lae, PNG, respectively. 

The increase was tapered by volume decline in Guayaquil, Ecuador and Karachi, Pakistan.  Organically, consolidated volume growth was flat. 

Excluding the new terminals, consolidated gross revenues increased by 6%, ICTSI said.

Growth was tapered by higher operating expenses mainly due to the fixed port lease expense in Melbourne, Australia.  Consequently, the EBITDA margin declined to 45% from 49% in the same period in 2017.  www.ictsi.com (ATI).