MANILA: International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) said Tuesday that net profit slipped 3% to $46.4 million for the second quarter of 2016 as expenses related to Argentine operations offset improved revenue.
The Philippine company, which runs around 30 midsize ports worldwide, did not elaborate on the situation at its TecPlata port in Buenos Aires. But ICTSI had previously said that in 2015 it booked $88 million in impairment charges “due to lower projected cash flows on its updated business plan as a result of the prevailing and challenging economic conditions in Argentina.”
Business News Americas reported in March that TecPlata “has yet to secure shipping contracts since being inaugurated in July 2015.” Meanwhile, revenue from port operations grew 11% to $284.3 million for the April-June quarter after the volume of containers handled by the company rose 16% to 2.21 million twenty-foot-equivalent units.
The second-quarter earnings brought first-half net profit to $100.4 million, down 13%, still due largely to expenses related to the Argentinian port. Revenue for the six-month period edged down 0.2% to $550.8 million even as the container volume handled improved 10% to 4.26 million TEUs, driven by ports in Iraq, Mexico, Pakistan and Indonesia. ICTSI President Enrique Razon said early this year that the company may be forced to reduce personnel at nonperforming ports.
