Lower volume for Westports
Intense competition resulted in 3% drop in January-May
PETALING JAYA: Intense competition has resulted in Westports Holdings Bhd recording lower container volume in April to May this year.
The logistics services provider and operator of the Westports terminal in Klang said in a statement that container volume fell 3% yearon-year to 3.95 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in the January-May period.
In the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, Westports achieved a 1% growth in container volume to 2.4 million TEUs.
Westports noted that the first quarter of 2016 was a record quarter and the fastest-growing period for the port operator last year, it said in an update on container volume achieved for the five months ended May 31, 2017.
It said the statement was to ensure fair disclosure and thorough public dissemination to all shareholders and stakeholders as in accordance to international best practices and Bursa Malaysia Main Market listing requirements.
“In the same quarterly financial report, we had indicated in the ‘Current Year’s Prospects’ that we target to maintain similar container throughput as that achieved in 2016.
“We would like to disclose that for April to May, we have recorded lower volume than originally expected,” it added.
Westports had originally expected to still grow its volume this quarter due to an increased amount of transitional moves or ad hoc calls as a result of the changes in shipping alliances.
“However, these did not materialise as planned due to the fact that competition for these volumes were intense,” it added.
Westports said the realignment of the container shipping industry from April 1 saw the phasing-out of previous services under the Ocean 3 Alliance (O3), CKYHE and G6 and the gradual phasing-in of services under the new Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance.
The first vessel call at Westports under the Ocean Alliance was on April 6.
Under O3, its services were more spread out across the regions. In Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance, most of the 12 services that would be calling at Westports are more eastbound-focused services than westbound services.
“With the more moderate container throughput, we now expect the year’s overall container volume to be lower than the previous year by a single-digit percentage,” it said.
Westports’ share price fell 21 sen to RM3.85 on 1.63 million shares done.