ICTSI first half profits up nearly 50%

ICTSI first half profits up nearly 50%    Manila-based global terminal operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. saw first half operating profit increase 49 percent to $118.7 million, the company said Thursday.
   ICTSI's revenue in the first six months of 2010 rose 31 percent to $246.9 million. First half container volume at the company's 21 terminals rose 26 percent to 2 million TEUs.
   'The increase in volume was mainly due to the continued upturn in international trade, particularly in markets where ICTSI's ports are located,' the company said.
   ICTSI's terminals in Asia, from which 64 percent of its volumes are derived, saw slightly higher growth, at 28 percent.
   'The strong recovery in throughput volumes we experienced in the first quarter has continued and, combined with our continued focus on cost control, resulted in record financial results for the first half of the year,' said Enrique K. Razon Jr., ICTSI chairman and president. 'We also took further steps to secure long-term funding to facilitate further expansion of our worldwide portfolio.”
   The company earlier this year won a concession to operate a container terminal at the Port of Portland, its first U.S. facility.