Manila, Philippines-based container terminal operator International Container Services International has posted a solid set of first quarter results. Revenues were up. Profits were up. Box lifts were up. The group attributed its good results to operational improvements, lower finance costs and a “ramp up” in contributions by its new ports.
First quarter financials
ICTSI (PSE:ICT) reported unaudited consolidated financial results for the end of the first quarter this year of US$383.8 million. That’s 18 percent up on the figure of US$325.4 million recorded in the prior corresponding period in 2018. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization stood at US$222.5 million. That’s 25 percent higher than the US$177.5 million generated in the first quarter of last year. Net income attributed to shareholders in the first quarter stood at US$72.4 million, up a whopping 77 percent compared to the US$40.9 million generated in the first quarter of 2018.
Enrique K. Razon, Jr, ICTSI chairman and president said: “ICTSI has continued to grow and delivered a strong first quarter financial performance… while we remain very mindful of the economic backdrop, we remain confident about the future prospects of the business as we build on this positive momentum.”
Box volume update
Operationally, the port handled a greater volume of ocean shipping containers in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same quarter in 2018. ICTSI handled a consolidated volume of 2.48 million twenty foot equivalent units in the first quarter of this year. That is seven percent more than the 2.33 million TEU handled in the prior corresponding period last year.
A variety of factors drove ICTSI’s financial and operational growth in the first quarter. Revenue growth was attributed to handling more containers, tariff adjustments, new contracts, new activities by shipping lines, non-containerized cargoes, and also from storage and other services. Contributions to revenues were also generated by “strong operational and financial performance” at the group’s terminal in Melbourne, Australia. Results were also boosted by volume increases at the group’s terminals at Lae and Motukea in Papua New Guinea.
Improvements in operations were also made at ICTSI’s joint venture box terminal in Buenaventura, Colombia, which recorded a net loss of US$6.3 million. That was lower than the US$8.9m of losses recorded in Q1 2018.
ICTSI at-a-glance
The solid first quarter for ICTSI follows-on from an also-solid 2018 calendar year. In 2018, the group recorded consolidated box volumes of 9.8 million TEU, up by six percent from 2017. It generated revenues of US$1.4 billion in 2018, up seven percent from 2017. The group also generated a net income of US$249.8 million in 2018, up 20 percent from the previous year.
Founded in 1987 to bid for the Manila terminal concession, ICTSI is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. It operates 30 terminals around the world, of which it fully owns 16. It has part-ownership of the other 14. It operates 10 terminals in the Philippines, six terminals in other parts of Asia, seven in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and a further seven in Latin America.