ICTSI net profit surges 49% to P686M in first half

Port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) reported a 49-percent growth in its first semester net profit to P686 million from only P460 million in the same period a year ago, mainly driven by the continued strong performance of its three main operating units.

In the second quarter alone, net income stood at P408 million, up 42 percent from P288 million a year earlier.

In a statement, ICTSI said the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT); the Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) in Gdynia, Poland; and Tecon Suape SA (TSSA) in Brazil remained the main drivers of growth.

"ICTSI has turned in another excellent quarter of performance. All of our major business units are performing well, with Tecon Suape in Brazil generating exceptional volume growth," ICTSI chairman and chief executive officer Enrique K. Razon Jr. said.

Consolidated gross revenues from port operations rose 18 percent to P2.62 billion from P2.24 billion. Net revenues or revenues from port operations after deducting port authorities’ share, amounted to P1.92 billion or an increase of 21 percent over the same period last year. Port authorities’ share represents fees and payments to the respective port authorities at each of the terminal locations of ICTSI.

ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 465,301 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during the second quarter, an increase of five percent compared to the 443,348 TEUs handled in the second quarter of 2004.

For the six months ending June 30, 2005, consolidated volumes rose eight percent to 8,674 TEUs from 840,538. Group-wide volumes handled for the first six months of 2005 stood at 962,230 TEUs.

MICT continued to account for bulk of consolidated volumes at 67 percent or 313,144 TEUs for the quarter in review, representing a seven-percent increase over the volumes handled the previous year.

TSSA handled 45,138 TEUs, up 36 percent from 33,301 TEUs while BCT handled 99,708 TEUs in the second quarter, an increase of three percent over the prior year period.

ICTSI’s consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved by 28 percent to P966 million in the second quarter of 2005, from P754 million in the second quarter of 2004. On a year-to-date basis, EBITDA was P1.735 billion, up 28 percent from P1.36 billion a year earlier.

Total consolidated operating expenses likewise increased by 12 percent to P1.36 billion from P1.21 billion due principally to higher electricity and fuel costs.

Consolidated financing costs and bank charges declined slightly to P159 million, from P161 million in the year-earlier period.

As of end-June, ICTSI’s total debt stood at P5.25 billion, P4.58 billion of which are peso-denominated bank loans while the balance of P674 million are US-dollar denominated term loans of subsidiary BCT.

In the first half this year, ICTSI spent P685 million to continue expanding its handling capacity. It intends to make further investments in its facilities for the rest of the year and continue to pursue the acquisition and development of new terminals to add to its portfolio.