By James A. Loyola
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) reported a 52 percent drop in audited consolidated attributable net income to US$100.4 million last year from the US$207.5 million earned in 2018.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ICTSI said that, excluding non-recurring gains and charges, recurring net income in 2019 was 23 percent higher at US$259.1 million compared to the US$210.5 million earned the previous year.
ICTSI reported that consolidated revenue from port operations reached US$1.5 billion, an increase of seven percent over the US$1.4 billion reported in 2018.
ICTSI Chairman Enrique K. Razon, Jr. explained that, “owing to the one-off non-cash impairment of the concession right assets of Tecplata S.A which we re-valued in light of prolonged difficult economic conditions in Argentina, net income fell.”
“The outbreak of COVID-19 has had an impact on volumes particularly in Asia and we are closely reviewing developments across the regions in which we operate,” he noted.
The Group’s capital expenditure budget for 2020 is approximately US$270 million. The estimated capital expenditure budget will be utilized mainly for the ongoing expansion projects at Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and CMSA in Mexico; yard expansion at IDRC in Democratic Republic of Congo; equipment acquisitions and upgrades; and for maintenance requirements.
ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 10,178,018 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2019, five percent more than the 9,736,621 TEUs handled in 2018.
The increase in volume was mainly due to continuing ramp-up at ICTSI’s new terminals in Lae and Motukea in Papua New Guinea and the contribution of the new terminal in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
It is also due to improvement in trade activities in Subic, Matadi, and Basra; new contracts with shipping lines and services at Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), Baltic Container Terminal (BCT), Adriatic Gate Container Terminal (AGCT), Batumi International Container Terminal (BICT), and Contecon Manzanillo S.A. (CMSA).
Gross revenues from port operations in 2019 increased seven percent to US$1.5 billion compared to US$1.4 billion reported in 2018.