International Container Terminal Services Inc. is planning to raise about P4.8 billion from the sale of its treasury shares “for general corporate purposes, including funding of committed capital expenditure.”

     In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ICTSI said its Board of Directors approved the sale of up to 40 million common shares of the Corporation from its treasury subject generally to market conditions.

     These 40 million shares are equivalent to roughly 2 percent of ICTSI’s 2 billion outstanding shares which were last traded at P121.80 per shares last Wednesday.

Amid the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global trade, ICTSI has reduced its capital expenditure plan for the year to approximately US$160 million, which will be utilized mainly to complete the ongoing expansion projects.

Capital expenditures, excluding capitalized borrowing costs, for the first nine months of the year amounted to US$128.6 million.

These were mainly for the ongoing expansions at Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) in Manila, Philippines, Contecon Manzanillo S.A. (CMSA) in Manzanillo, Mexico, Contecon Guayaquil S.A. (CGSA) in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Basra Gateway Terminal (ICTSI Iraq) in Umm Qsar, Iraq and ICTSI DR Congo (IDRC) in Matadi, Democratic Republic of Congo.

ICTSIreported just a slight dip in unaudited consolidated attributable net income to US$182.6 million in the first nine months of 2020 from the US$184.9 million earned in the same period last year.

The firm said the small difference is due mainly to higher interest on concession rights payable and COVID-19 related expenses.

These costs were partially offset by higher operating income, improvement in net operating results at its greenfield terminal in Melbourne, Australia and lower equity in net loss of joint ventures.  

Revenue from port operations was flat at US$1.1 billion as Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) improved 3 percent to US$643.2 million.

For the third quarter alone, attributable net income jumped 23 percent to US$69.2 million from US$56.4 million in the same period last year as revenue from port operations increased 7 percent from US$355.6 million to US$379.3 million.

“I am pleased to report that our performance for the third quarter benefited from the cost preservation measures we took to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic,” ICTSI Chairman and PresidentEnrique K. Razon, Jr. said.

He added that, “Our actions, together with improvements in global trade, a diversified portfolio, and high levels of customer service have helped to deliver an improved performance compared to the same period in the previous year.”

However, Razon noted that, “The pandemic continues to present uncertainties and we are very mindful of how unpredictable the environment is, as certain parts of the world move to a secondary lockdown, and we remain cautious.”\

He pointed out though that, “ICTSI is well positioned to benefit further should global trade continue to show signs of recovery, underpinned by our stringent cost management, ability to swiftly respond to changing situations and our diverse geographical presence.”(James A. Loyola)