Westports 2Q net profit falls to RM121.81 million
KUALA LUMPUR: Westports Holdings Bhd recorded a lower net profit of RM121.81 million for the second quarter (2Q) ended June 30, 2018 compared with RM148.82 million registered in the same period last year.
Revenue fell to RM394.03 million versus RM501.44 million chalked up previously.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Westports attributed the lower net profit to higher depreciation and finance cost.
“Also in Q2 2017, the income tax rate was lower due to investment tax allowance claims,” it said.
Moving forward, Westports expects container throughput to register a modest growth of a single-digit percentage in 2018.
In a separate statement, the port operator said its container operations handled a total throughput of 4.5 million twentyfoot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first six months of the year.
“The intra-Asia segment showed continued favourable momentum with a 10 per cent growth, thus raising the trade lane’s contribution to Westports’ overall volume to 61 per cent.
“For conventional cargoe, Westports handled a total throughput of 5.3 million tonnes with a higher volume recorded in the break bulk segment,” it said.
Group managing director Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said the completion of the Container Terminal (CT) 8 and CT9 in 2017 increased the total container handling capacity to 14 million TEUs per annum.
“The additional capacity is currently accommodating the largest container vessels of more than 20,000-TEUs that call at Westports and has further strengthened Port Klang as the pre-eminent port for the nation’s gateway trade and also as one of the main transhipment hubs in the region,” he added. — Bernama