ICTSI earnings rise 23% in Q1

The global terminal operator posted net earnings of $42.2 million for the first quarter of 2017 as revenues from port operations jumped 12 percent to $297.2 million compared with the same 2016 period.    International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) posted net earnings of $42.2 million in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 23 percent over the same period last year, due to strong operating income, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   The increase in operating income was offset by higher depreciation charges, higher interest and financing charges and an increase in the company’s share in the net loss at Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce S.A. (SPIA), said ICTSI.
   SPIA is the company’s joint venture container terminal project with PSA International Pte Ltd. (PSA) in Buenaventura, Colombia, which posted an increase of $7.4 million in the first quarter of 2017, up from $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2016 as the company started full commercial operations.
   Port operations revenues increased 12 percent to $297.2 million for the first quarter of 2017 thanks to volume growth, tariff rate adjustments at certain terminals, new contracts with shipping lines and services and the contribution of the ICTSI Democratic Republic of Congo (IDRC), the company’s new terminal in Matadi, DRC, ICTSI said. Not including the new terminal, consolidated gross revenues were up 8 percent from first quarter 2016.
   ICTSI handled 2.3 million TEUs in the first quarter of 2017, and 11 percent increase from the same period in 2016. The company cited continuous improvement in global trade activities in emerging markets, continuing ramp-up at ICTSI Iraq and contributions from the Matadi terminal as the primary reasons behind the increase in volumes. Minus the Matadi terminal, consolidated volumes increased 10 percent year-over-year for the quarter, according to ICTSI.
   Meanwhile, the global terminal operator continues to make a case for Subic Bay in the Philippines as a key port, reporting that Subic Bay Freeport has achieved productivity levels similar to ICTSI’s flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT).
   ICTSI noted that two Panamax quay cranes at the New Container Terminal (NCT) 1 handled close to 400 TEUs with each crane averaging 40 and 33 moves per hour, respectively, during a recent call from Evergreen Line boxship Cape Fulmar. The 1,440-TEU vessel is deployed on Evergreen’s KTP service, which began operations this year between South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines.
   “It was a great effort and a big win for ICTSI’s Subic operations,” Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC) President Roberto Locsin said of the efforts. “This goes to show that Subic is at par with the productivity levels in MICT. We are continuously working on improving our services to attract more shipping lines, and for northern and central Luzon businesses to use the container terminals in Subic.”
   ICTSI won the concession for NCT 1 in 2007 and its subsidiary, ICTSI Subic, Inc., was awarded the concession to operate NCT 2 in 2011. Increasing volumes in Subic enabled ICTSI to streamline and interface the operations of NCT 1 and 2, according to the terminal operator.