ICTSI triples capex to $356 M this year

MANILA, Philippines - International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is setting aside $356 million for capital expenditures this year, nearly three times the amount spent in 2010, as it gears up to further widen its presence overseas.

ICTSI told the Philippine Stock Exchange that the bulk of the 2011 capital budget will be used for new projects in Argentina, Mexico and Colombia while the balance will go to civil works, systems improvement and purchase of major cargo handling equipment at its port operations in Manila (MICT), Brazil (TSSA) and Ecuador (CGSA).

Last year, the company spent $125 million mainly for TSSA’s acquisition of container handling equipment, CGSA’s civil works in order to expand handling capacity and improve operating efficiency, SPIA’s pre-development civil works and MICT’s spending on Berth 6.

ICTSI posted a net income of $98.3 million last year, up 79 percent from 2010 mainly due to the recovery in global trade, upsurge in revenues and lower tax rate for the period.

Revenue from port operations expanded 25 percent to $527.1 million while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 41 percent to $247.7 million.

Enrique K. Razon Jr., chairman and president of ICTSI, said: “2010 was a record year for ICTSI reflecting both the strong rebound in trade volumes as well as our continued focus on cost containment. We are well positioned for continued growth in the future.”

ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 4.2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2010, up 18 percent from the prior year.

Throughput from the company’s container terminal operations in Asia increased 18 percent to 2.65 million TEUs from 2.25 million TEUs in the same period in 2009.

Revenue contribution from the container terminal operations in Asia increased 28 percent from $213.8 million to $273.6 million in 2010. The improvement in gross revenue was mainly due to the stellar performance of the container terminal in Yantai, China which posted a 49 percent improvement year-on-year, MICT in Manila which grew 24 percent, and the three container terminal operations in southern Philippines, namely MICTSI, DIPSSCOR and SCIPSI which registered increases of 62 percent, 40 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

Asian port operations contributed 52 percent to ICTSI’s full-year consolidated gross revenues.

Full-year revenue contribution from container terminal operations in the Americas was 30 percent higher at $192.1 million compared to $147.4 million.

The group’s EMEA operations, which accounted for 12 percent of the company’s revenue for the year, rose two percent $61.5 million, largely due to higher revenues from the company’s terminals in Poland and Georgia which was partially offset by lower revenues in Madagascar and Syria.