Tuesday, April 29, 2008 [ manilatimes.net ]
INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) told the Philippine Stock Exchange that it recently signed a contract with the Phividec Industrial Authority to run the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT).
ICTSI said it signed the concession contract on April 25 and was issued a notice to proceed with commercial operations at the port within 60 days. The concession contract, which was awarded on March 31, grants the port operator 25 years to manage and operate MCT.
Located in Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, MCT is about 20 kilometers from the Cagayan de Oro City. It is designed to accommodate an annual throughput of 270,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and has a berth length of 300 meters with a depth of 13 meters.
For this year, ICTSI earlier said it is “cautious” about its prospects due to the global economic slowdown. The company nevertheless is banking on growth coming from its newly acquired ports.
ICTSI acquired five foreign terminals last year in China, Syria, Georgia, Ecuador and Colombia and is looking to acquire more in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Last year, ICTSI invested P11.6 billion to expand its handling capacity and improve its operating efficiency. The company’s net income was up 52 percent to P2.8 billion from P1.84 billion in 2006. Revenues rose 27 percent to P15 billion due largely to the contribution of port operations in Ecuador, China, Syria, Georgia and Davao, as well as strong organic growth at the company’s operations in Brazil, Madagascar, Poland and Manila.
Foreign operations accounted for 49 percent of last year’s consolidated revenues. The company handled consolidated volume of three million TEUs, 51 percent higher than the 1.99 million handled in 2006. Domestic operations accounted for 54 percent of consolidated volumes.--Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
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