ICTSI seals expansion to Honduras
MANILA, Philippines—Global ports operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. has sealed its expansion into Honduras through the takeover of the cargo and container terminal project in the Central American republic.
A filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday showed that ICTSI executed on Nov. 11 the takeover deed for the container facilities of Puerto Cortes, Honduras.
The physical takeover, executed through ICTSI’s subsidiary Operadora Portuaria Centroamericana S.A. de C.V., or OPC., will take place before the end of this month, the company said.
When fully developed, the container and general cargo terminal of Puerto Cortes will have 1,100 meters of quay for containers and 400 meters of general cargo, 14 meters of draft, 62.2 hectares of total surface area, 12 ship-to-shore cranes and a volume capacity of approximately 1,800,000 TEUs [twenty-foot equivalent units], the filing showed.
The move is part of the company’s aggressive expansion strategy overseas.
Apart from Honduras, ICTSI is also bidding for port operations in Melbourne, Australia and is eyeing a handful of privatization deals in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia.
Last month, the company said a venture to develop and operate the container port terminal and ancillary facilities in the Peninsula of Aguadulce, Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, Colombia was moving forward.
ICTSI, led by billionaire Enrique Razon Jr., reported this week that net income in the nine months through September rose 22 percent to $128.8 million while revenues during the period hit $624.7 million, up 19 percent. Volume also grew 13 percent to 4.6 million TEUs.
ICTSI’s seven key terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Madagascar, China, Ecuador and Pakistan accounted for 79 percent of the group’s consolidated volume in the first nine months of 2013.
In terms of revenues, the seven ports accounted for 85 percent, ICTSI said.
It also reported that capital investments in the first half of this year had reached $357.9 million, about 65 percent of the $550 million capital expenditure budget for 2013.
This was mainly allocated for the completion of the company’s terminal development projects in Mexico and Argentina, and the ramp-up of construction activities in Colombia and Davao, southern Philippines.—Miguel R. Camus
