PSA International profits drop 9.5% in 2015

The Singapore-based port terminal operator posted a net profit of $1.27 billion Singapore (U.S. $934.54 million) on revenues that fell 6.7 percent to S$3.57 billion compared with the previous year.

   PSA International Pte Ltd. net profits in 2015 dropped 9.5 percent to $1.27 billion Singapore (U.S. $934.54 million) compared with the previous year, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   Revenues at the Singapore-based port terminal operator fell 6.7 percent year-over-year to S$3.57 billion in 2015.
   PSA attributed the decrease primarily to a 2 percent decrease in terminal volumes to 64.1 million TEUs for the full year. The company’s flagship terminal in Singapore contributed 30.62 million TEUs to total throughput, a decline of 8.7 percent compared with the previous year.
   PSA terminals outside Singapore, which include operations in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia in Southeast Asia; China, Korea and Japan in Northeast Asia; India and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent; Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Turkey in Europe; and Argentina, Panama and Colombia in the Americas, increased their combined volumes 5 percent to contribute a total of 33.48 million TEUs.
   “In 2015, the unusual volatility that persisted in the global marketplace caused a general loss of confidence on all fronts, bewildering governments, policy makers, central bankers, business leaders and investors, and culminating in sluggish or lower growth for most economies – including China which had been for the past decade one of the world’s key growth engines,” PSA International Group Chairman Fock Siew Wah said of the results.
   “The container shipping industry was not spared as it grappled with softening trade and demand, excess tonnage capacity and depressed freight rates. Amidst this troubling economic landscape, and despite anticipating and preparing for the then oncoming storm, PSA was nevertheless adversely affected albeit to a lesser extent than would be otherwise.”
   “These are difficult, uncertain times, but also challenging and exciting,” added Group CEO Tan Chong Meng. “In the last few years, we have witnessed the massive impact of rapidly changing mega liner alliances; the arrival of mega ships and port congestion around the globe due to the inadequacy of some berth facilities; protracted dips in crude oil prices; and a global economy that has lost much of its growth momentum resulting in anemic trade flows.
   “The unprecedented pace of change is vexing the best minds in our industry and I am convinced that it will also shake up how industry players collaborate or compete in this dynamic environment…We will continue to invest, upgrade, give of our best to our customers and partners, and work alongside them to ride out the choppy waves towards calmer horizons.”