INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) posted an 8.7% increase in first-quarter attributable net income to $154.61 million as revenues grew despite challenging times, it said on Monday.

“These results have been driven by our diversified portfolio and continued focus on margins, and they have been achieved against a challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop,” ICTSI Chairman and President Enrique K. Razon, Jr. said in a statement.

The company also attributed the higher income to “higher operating income [and] lower coronavirus 2019 related expenses.”

During the quarter, it recorded $572.25 million in gross revenues from operations, which is 8.3% higher than the $528.27 million it posted in 2022.

Gross revenues increased due to tariff adjustments, volume growth, and higher revenues at certain terminals, and the appreciation of Mexican peso-based revenues, among others.

Expenses amounted to $387.53 million, 12.8% higher than the $343.43 million incurred last year.

ICTSI has also recorded an increase in the consolidated volume it handled at 3.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs, up by 9% from 2.83 million in the previous year.

“The increase in volume was primarily due to the contribution of Manila North Harbour Port, Inc. (MNHPI) in Manila, Philippines that was consolidated starting September 2022 and the volume growth and new shipping lines and services at certain terminals,” the company said.

However, consolidated volume was tapered by the cessation of cargo handling at PT Makassar Terminal Services (PT MTS) and Davao Integrated Port and Stevedoring Services Corp. (DIPSSCOR). 

ICTSI added that it was also affected by the decline in trade activities at its Pakistan International Container Terminal and Victoria International Container Terminal.

It said excluding MNHPI, DIPSSCOR, which ceased operations on June 30, 2022, and PT MTS, which stopped operating on Jan. 31, 2023, consolidated volume would have decreased by 1% in 2023.

In the first quarter, the company’s capital expenditures (capex) amounted to $87.69 million, which were used for ongoing expansions at its ports and for the acquisition of ports in Mexico, Australia, the Philippines and Congo.

In 2023, the company estimated its capex to be approximately $400 million, which will be used for ongoing expansions, the second tranche of its concession extension-related expenditures in Madagascar, yard expansion in Nigeria, and equipment acquisitions and upgrades, among others.

ICTSI, a manager and operator of origin and destination ports, operates around 33 terminals in 20 countries across six continents.

On Monday, shares in ICTSI went down by three pesos or 1.41% to P210 each. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

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