Foreign operations double ICTSI income to P1.06B in 2004

Boosted by increased contributions from its foreign operations, port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) more than doubled its net income in 2004 to P1.06 billion from only P528 million the previous year.

"Our Philippine operations continue to be resilient, contributing steadily to our bottomline. But, more and more we are seeing increased contributions from our foreign operations which validates our strategy of expanding our portfolio of terminals overseas," ICTSI chairman and president Enrique K. Razon Jr. said.

"Notwithstanding these achievements, we shall continue to invest in our existing terminals to improve efficiencies while growing our portfolio of terminals overseas, he added."

The significant improvement in profit was also attributed to the sustained positive performance of the company’s Philippine operations, particularly the flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT).

Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 42 percent to P2.9 billion from P2 billion.

ICTSI registered revenues of P9.09 billion last year or an increase of 34.7 percent from P6.75 billion in 2003. This was due to higher container volume handled by consolidated subsidiaries.

Consolidated volume went up 27 percent to 1.792 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from only 1.413 million TEUs in 2003. Groupwide volume, on the other hand, reached 1.912 million TEUs, up 25 percent from a year earlier.

Of the total volume, 67 percent was contributed by the MICT which handled a total of 1.204 million TEUs or an increase of nine percent.

Volume at the Suape Container Terminal in Brazil surged 128 percent to 142,608 TEUs from 62,642 TEUs. Tecon Suape S.A, manager and operator of the SCT, has been experiencing continued growth following the successful resolution of labor issues early in the year, the subsequent calls of new shipping line clients and the inclusion of the terminal in new service routes.

On the other hand, the Baltic Container Terminal in Poland posted moderate growth with volumes handled rising 22 percent to 372,762 TEUs.

In order to address growing container traffic, BCT has undertaken an expansion program designed to raise the terminal’s annual capacity from 400,000 TEUs to 800,000 TEUs.

In November 2004, BCT secured a loan from a syndicate of Polish and international banks to fund its expansion which involves the purchase of new equipment and the upgrading of its IT system.