ICTSI reports lower 2009 results

- International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has reported a 9% reduction in its financial results for 2009, with earning at US$421.7m compared to US$463.1m in 2008. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at US$175.7m, 11% down on 2008 due mainly to the decline in global trade, although the negative impact was partially mitigated by a reduction in operating expenses.

“2009 marked the first full year decline in global trade volumes since the end of the Second World War and ICTSI’s annual results were affected by this difficult environment. We controlled our costs well to limit the negative impact of volume declines. The second half of the year was notably better than the first, with Q4 showing the first year-over-year growth in volumes since Q3-2008,” said Enrique Razon Jr., ICTSI chairman and president.

ICTSI’s consolidated volumes for the full-year were 5% lower at 3.5m teus compared to the 3.7m for the same period in 2008, however, volumes in the Q4 saw a 1m teu (7%) improvement over the same period in 2008.

Throughput from the company’s container operations in Asia increased by 3% to 2.2m teus. The group’s Americas container terminals were relatively flat, achieving 876,200 teus for the full-year, compared to 884,596 teus in 2008. In its Europe, Middle East and Africa operations the company experienced the biggest drop in throughput, with a decrease of 36% to 430,132 teus, compared to 668,766 teus for the same period in 2008.

In 2009 ICTSI’s capital expenditure amounted to US$119m, however the company estimates that in 2010 the total will be approximately US$123m, mainly for civil works, systems improvement and purchase of major cargo handling equipment at its operations in Manila, Brazil, Ecuador, and Madagascar.

(Source: China Daily)