ICTSI net income drops 86%

Port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) suffered a sharp 86-percent drop in its net income for the first nine months this year as the weaker peso took its toll on the company’s foreign obligations.

With non-cash losses totaling P500.2 million, ICTSI’s consolidated net income shrank from P406 million in 1999 to P59.4 million this year. In the third quarter alone, net profit thinned down by 72 percent from P155 million to P43.9 million.

These non-cash losses – due to the shrinking value of the peso – resulted in a higher put premium accretion on the company’s $130-million convertible notes, higher peso equivalent on the outstanding $153.4-million loans, and higher peso equivalent for Philippine Ports Authority fees.

Publicly-listed ICTSI operates the Southern port of the Manila International Container Terminal and has international operations in Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Tanzania.

Despite the foreign exchange losses, the company it was able to remain in the black owing to the strong rebound in its operating income during the period as practically all terminals handled increased volumes.

Except for the labor-troubled Terminal 5 in Argentina, ICTSI’s terminals posted strong output with group-wide volume increasing by 18 percent year-on-year.

With higher cargo volume, consolidated gross revenues climbed 59 percent to P8.7 billion from P5.5 billion a year ago and consolidated earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) expanding 55 percent to P3.1 billion from P2 billion. – Conrado Diaz Jr