Philippines port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) plans to buy rights to more ports in Africa, Middle East and South America this year to expand its portfolio of concessions, a ranking official said, reported BusinessWorld.
"We are very actively looking at ports. We are looking at many, specifically in Africa, Middle East, and Latin America," ICTSI chairman and chief executive Enrique Razon, told reporters.
Razon said the company is looking to acquire two ports in Africa, for instance.
Also, ICTSI is readying a tender offer to increase its recently acquired 35 percent stake in Pakistan International Container Terminal to 51 percent, he added.
As of end-2011, ICTSI was involved in more than 20 terminal operating concessions and port development projects in 17 countries worldwide. Of these projects, six are located in the Philippines.
Razon said the sixth terminal of Manila International Container Services, a unit of ICTSI, is set to open in June.
The terminal costs around US$120 million, he said.
The expansion plans come as ICTSI is "cautiously" upbeat for 2012.
"The general outlook is cautiously positive because we have seen some growth. Some places are growing; some places are not, but generally, we are somewhat cautiously positive," Razon said.
The company has programmed $550 million in capital spending for this year, more than double from last year's $228 million.
A bulk of the new figure or $345 million will be spent "for greenfield projects in Argentina, Mexico, and Columbia," according to the company's annual report,
"The balance is for civil works, systems improvement, and purchases of major cargo handing equipment in Manila, Croatia, Brazil, Ecuador," the annual report stated.
Razon said the budget for ports that are currently being evaluated by the company is already included in the capex.
ICTSI saw its net income attributable to equity holders grow 33 percent to $130.4 million at the end of 2011 from $98.3 million in the previous year "due to the upsurge in revenues, lower financing charges, lower effective tax rate and a one-time gain on sale of non-core assets."
Its revenues went up 26 percent to $664.8 million in 2011 from $527.1 million in the previous year.
The company attributed the revenue increase "to the strong double digit volume growth across all geographic segments of the group, higher storage revenues and ancillary services, favorable volume mix, and the inclusion of the new terminals in Portland, Oregon and Rijeka, Croatia."
"We are very actively looking at ports. We are looking at many, specifically in Africa, Middle East, and Latin America," ICTSI chairman and chief executive Enrique Razon, told reporters.
Razon said the company is looking to acquire two ports in Africa, for instance.
Also, ICTSI is readying a tender offer to increase its recently acquired 35 percent stake in Pakistan International Container Terminal to 51 percent, he added.
As of end-2011, ICTSI was involved in more than 20 terminal operating concessions and port development projects in 17 countries worldwide. Of these projects, six are located in the Philippines.
Razon said the sixth terminal of Manila International Container Services, a unit of ICTSI, is set to open in June.
The terminal costs around US$120 million, he said.
The expansion plans come as ICTSI is "cautiously" upbeat for 2012.
"The general outlook is cautiously positive because we have seen some growth. Some places are growing; some places are not, but generally, we are somewhat cautiously positive," Razon said.
The company has programmed $550 million in capital spending for this year, more than double from last year's $228 million.
A bulk of the new figure or $345 million will be spent "for greenfield projects in Argentina, Mexico, and Columbia," according to the company's annual report,
"The balance is for civil works, systems improvement, and purchases of major cargo handing equipment in Manila, Croatia, Brazil, Ecuador," the annual report stated.
Razon said the budget for ports that are currently being evaluated by the company is already included in the capex.
ICTSI saw its net income attributable to equity holders grow 33 percent to $130.4 million at the end of 2011 from $98.3 million in the previous year "due to the upsurge in revenues, lower financing charges, lower effective tax rate and a one-time gain on sale of non-core assets."
Its revenues went up 26 percent to $664.8 million in 2011 from $527.1 million in the previous year.
The company attributed the revenue increase "to the strong double digit volume growth across all geographic segments of the group, higher storage revenues and ancillary services, favorable volume mix, and the inclusion of the new terminals in Portland, Oregon and Rijeka, Croatia."