ICTSI eyes 4 more foreign ports

Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is bidding for at least four container port operations overseas as it seeks to rebuild a strong competitive foothold in the international market.

ICTSI chairman and president Enrique Razon said the company has submitted bids for container port operations in Yemen and Nigeria and expects a decision on these bids in the next two months.

Razon said Yemen and Nigeria are good sites for expansion because they are geographically located and have enormous growth opportunities.

He said the company is also looking at bidding for a container port in Madagascar. Apart from this, ICTSI is exploring opportunities in China and North America.

Razon said ICTSI will also make additional investments in its existing port terminals abroad, including the Suape Container Terminal as part of efforts to make it the preferred gateway port in northeastern Brazil.

"We have programmed substantial investments for our existing terminals and have a full pipeline of promising prospects for new terminal concessions and acquisitions," Razon said during the company’s stockholders’ meeting yesterday.

ICTSI eyes... From B-1

ICTSI had sold seven of its overseas port operations in 2001 to raise funds to settle debts.

The company has since acquired and started port operations in Poland and Brazil, and will begin operating two container terminals in Japan’s Naha port in January 2006 when all other approvals have been obtained. ICTSI’s 60 percent owned subsidiary Naha International Container Terminal Inc.has been designated by the Japanese port authority as private operator of the Naha Port Public International Container Terminal for 10 years.

Located in the East China Sea, the Naha port handles more than 50 shipping routes and is ideally situated to serve vessels with cargo bound for the US and Europe.

"ICTSI is the first foreign company to ever operate a port in Japan. Our foremost challenge is to grow the share of port services needed by the rapidly growing trade between mainland Asia and the rest of the world.

We shall do this by emphasizing Okinawa’s strategic location and by providing shipping lines with a container terminal that is managed and operated efficiently and competitively as any of the best ports," Razon said.

ICTSI more than doubled its net income last year to P1.06 billion, driven by higher contributions from its foreign operations.

The significant improvement in profit was also attributed to the steady and sustained 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.

Revenues grew 34.7 percent to P9.09 billion 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 twenty foot equivalent units TEUs from only 1.413 million TEUs. Groupwide

volume, on the other hand, reached 1.912 million TEUs, up 25 percent from the year earlier level.

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 the anticipated 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.