ICTSI net income more than doubles to $30.7 million in third quarter

MANILA, Philippines - International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) reported a net income of $30.7 million in the third quarter this year, more than double the $14 million recorded in the same period a year ago, on asset sales.

This brings ICTSI’s total net earnings for the nine-month period this year to $73 million or 97 percent higher than the $37.2 million posted in the same period a year earlier. The company recorded gains from the sale of its 9.54-percent stake in Subic Shipyard & Engineering Inc. and 8.56 percent in Consort Land Inc.

Gross revenues rose 21 percent in the third quarter to $133.6 million. In the first nine months of the year, revenues amounted to $380.6 million or an increase of 27 percent from $299.3 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached $182.5 million, up 41 percent from $129.1 million.

“We continue to see a strong growth trend in volumes and revenues across our portfolio of terminals. Our financial results for the first nine months of the year have exceeded the same period in 2008, our previous record performance,” ICTSI chairman and president Enrique K. Razon Jr. said.

ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 3.07million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first nine months of 2010, 21 percent higher than year earlier level, mainly due to increased volume. In the third quarter, it handled 1.06 million TEUs compared to 943,805 TEUs in 2009.

Throughput from the company’s container terminal operations in Asia increased 21 percent to 1.941 million TEUs, accounting for 63 percent of consolidated volume in the first three quarters of 2010.

Volume from container terminal operations in the Americas grew 21 percent to 758,325 TEUs, contributing 25 percent of consolidated volumes. Two operating terminals in the region, Tecon Suape S.A. (TSSA) in Brazil and Contecon Guayaquil S.A. (CGSA) in Ecuador, both exhi-bited strong volume growth of 39 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, container terminal operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) handled 370,820 TEUs in the first nine months of the year, 22 percent higher than the year earlier level of 302,754 TEUs and accounting for 12 percent of consolidated volumes.

All EMEA operating terminals registered double-digit increases in volumes handled. Most notable are the performances of Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) in Poland and Batumi International Container Terminal (BICT) in Georgia which registered impressive volume growth levels of 29 percent and 59 percent, respectively.

EMEA operations handled 134,876 TEUs in the third quarter of 2010, 18 percent higher compared to the 114,130 TEUs handled in the same period in 2009.

Revenue contribution from the group’s six key terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Ecuador, Madagascar and China, which accounted for 91 percent of consolidated revenues, rose 26 percent from $273.8 million.

Consolidated interest expense and financing charges amounted to $35.5 million, an increase of 69 percent from $21.1 million.

ICSTI spent $83.9 million during the period under review. It is expected to spend a total of $123 million mainly for civil works, systems improvement, and purchase of major cargo handling equipment at its port operations in Manila (MICT), Brazil (TSSA), Ecuador (CGSA) and Madagascar (MICTSL).

ICTSI is widely acknowledged as a leading global developer, manager and operator of container terminals in the 50,000 to 1.5 million TEU/year range. ICTSI has an experience record that spans four continents and continues to pursue container terminal opportunities around the world.