ICTSI profit up 24% in Q1 to $35.4M

Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. grew its profit by nearly a quarter in the first three months of 2012 on the back a recovery in global trade, despite the debt-driven economic crisis in Europe.

Operating ports in four continents around the globe, ICTSI said its net income reached $35.4 million in the first quarter, up by 24 percent from last year.

The company said it reaped the benefits of its aggressive expansion in various international locations that protected it from economic shocks affecting certain areas.

“The increase was mainly due to the sustained growth in countries where ICTSI’s terminals are located, new shipping lines and routes, and the inclusion of the volume generated by the company’s new terminals in the United States and Croatia,” the company said in a statement.

The company said the higher profit came as a result of a 12-percent year-on-year increase in revenues from port operations to $173.8 million.

Excluding the United States and Croatian ports, which the company had not yet acquired in the first quarter of 2011, ICTSI said its recurring revenue grew 9 percent.

The revenue contribution of ICTSI’s six major terminals, namely those in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Ecuador, Madagascar and China, was at $146.1 million—up 7 percent from last year.

The company’s revenue, though growing at a slower pace, was still more than enough to cover consolidated expenses that reached $73.8 million for the January to March period.

“The increase was mainly driven by high manpower costs, and facilities-related expenses relating to the new terminal operations in Oregon (US) and Rijeka (Croatia), higher contracted expenses, overtime, fuel power and repairs,” ICTSI said.