International Container Terminal Services Inc. on Monday reported a net income of $143.7 million in the first nine months of the year from $142.3 million last year, on the back of strong international and domestic trade.
The port operator owned by tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. said gross revenues from port operations amounted to $792 million in the January-to-September period, up 2 percent from $779.2 million year-on-year.
ICTSI attributed the revenue increase mainly to volume growth at most of the company’s terminals and favorable volume mix and higher ancillary services at Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. in Subic Bay.
The port operator handled consolidated volume of 5.77 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first nine months of the year, 7 percent more than 5.41 million TEUs handled in the same period in 2014.
The increase in volume was mainly due to the increase container traffic at Contecon Manzanillo S.A. in Manzanillo, Mexico, Operadora Portuaria Centroamericana S.A. de C.V. in Puerto Cortez, Honduras; Pakistan International Container Terminal in Karachi, Pakistan; Yantai International Container Terminal in Yantai, China, and the company’s new terminal, ICTSI Iraq in Basra, Iraq.
The company’s eight key terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Madagascar, China, Ecuador, Pakistan and Honduras, which accounted for 77 percent of the group’s consolidated volume in the first nine months of 2015, grew five percent compared a year ago.
ICTSI’s capital expenditures amounted to $254.6 million in the first nine months, about 48 percent of the $530-million capex budget for the full year 2015.
“The established budget is mainly allocated for the completion of development at the company’s new container terminals in Mexico, Honduras and Iraq, capacity expansion in its terminal operation in Manila, and to start the development of the new terminals in Democratic Republic of Congo and Australia,” ICTSI said.
ICTSI invested $79.1 million in the development of Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce S.A., its joint venture container terminal development project with PSA International Pte Ltd. in Buenaventura, Colombia.
The company’s share for 2015 to complete phase one of the project is about $140 million.
Given the underspending trend recorded in the first three quarters of 2015, the company reduced its capex and investment budget in SPIA for the full year 2015 to $350 million and $97 million, respectively.
“The underspending on capital expenditures was mainly from longer payment schedules on civil works and equipment contracts in most of the company’s greenfield projects, foreign exchange related savings brought about by the stronger US dollar, and a number of postponed capital expenditures on volume-related expansions given the weak global trade outlook,” ICTSI said.