Port operator’s earnings a pointer to recovery in global trade

August 5, 2021

MANILA - In a significant announcement for global trade, the Philippines-headquartered port operator and developer, International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), has revealed a net income increase of 73% for the first half of 2021, to US$196.7 million. Earnings before tax and interest across all three of ICTSI's three geographic segments - Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa - exceeded ICTSI's  2019 pre-pandemic performance.

Enrique K. Razon, Jr., ICTSI Chairman and President said ICTSI's trade volume, revenues and EBITDA had risen by 14%, 22% and 28% respectively across all three geographic segments, results driven by favourable market conditions and "prudent actions" taken by ICTSI at the onset of the pandemic. 

For the first half of 2021, ICTSI reported revenue from port operations of US$882.6 million. Net income attributable to equity holders was US$196.7 million.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2021, revenue from port operations increased 28% to US$447.0 million. 

ICTSI handled a consolidated volume of 5,459,523 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first six months of 2021, 14% more than in the same period of 2020. 

ICTSI said the increase in volume was primarily due to an improvement in trade activities as economies continued to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2021, total consolidated throughput was 20% higher at 2,751,731 TEUs than for the same quarter of 2020.

Gross revenues from port operations for the first half of 2021 increased on-year by 22% to US$882.6 million, mainly due to volume growth, favourable container mix, tariff adjustments at certain terminals, new contracts with shipping lines and services, higher revenues from ancillary services and the contribution of new terminals -- ICTSI Nigeria Ltd (ICTSNL) in Nigeria, Manila Harbour Center Port Services, Inc. (MHCPSI) in the Philippines, and Kribi Multipurpose Terminal (KMT) in Cameroon. 

  ICTSI said capital expenditure for the six months ended June 30, 2021 amounted to US$74.4 million, mainly for ongoing expansion at Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) in the Philippines and ICTSI DR Congo (IDRC) in Democratic Republic of Congo, along with acquisition of port facilities and equipment at ICTSNL in Port of Onne in Nigeria. 

The Group's capital expenditure budget for 2021 of approximately US$250.0 million would be utilised mainly for completion of expansion at MICT, ongoing yard expansion at IDRC, a new expansion project at Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) in Melbourne, Australia, and equipment acquisitions and upgrades. 

www.ictsi.com (ATI).