Container tariff revision, lower fuel cost buoy Westports' second quarter results

PETALING JAYA: Port operator Westports Holdings' second quarter net profit increased almost 31% to RM159.87 million from RM122.09 million a year ago, attributable to a revision in container tariffs and lower fuel cost.

Revenue for the period ended June 30, 2016 was up almost 29% at RM522.62 million from RM405.28 million previously, while operational revenue was up 16% to RM449.1 million.
"Container throughput increased by 16% from 2.16 million to 2.50 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for period under review," Westports said.
Westports approved a first interim single-tier dividend of 7.30 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2016 amounting to RM248.930 million to be paid on Aug 23, 2016. The entitlement date for the dividend payment is Aug 11, 2016.
For the first six months ended June 30, 2016 (H1'16), Westports' net profit improved by 36% to RM330.95 million from RM242.27 million in the previous year.
The group's operational revenue was up almost 15% to RM885.4 million from RM773.2 million in the corresponding period last year, due to improved contributions, especially from the container operations.
It said container throughput increased by 11% from 4.42 million to 4.90 million TEUs in period under review.
Westports said its container operations achieved another milestone by handling 4.9 million TEUs in H1'16.
Transshipment containers increased to 3.6 million TEUs while the group handled 1.3 million TEUs of gateway containers.
Westports continues to facilitate domestic manufacturing and economic activities as laden export containers increased by 5% while its total volume constituted about 76% of Port Klang's total container throughput in the H1'16, it said.
Conventional throughput in H1'16 was 5.5 million tonnes as Westports handled items such as wheat, soy, sugar, steel products and project cargoes for domestic consumption and economic activities. Liquid bulk operations improved its throughput by 18% with contribution from bunker operations.
CEO Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said Westports benefited from accommodating its shipping clients' ad-hoc handling requirements as they introduced larger vessels into their container shipping services.
For 2016, Westports expects its container throughput to grow between 5% and 10%, driven by the transshipment segment.