Westports’ 2017 pretax profit down on lower volume
KUALA LUMPUR: Port operator Westports Holdings Bhd’s pre-tax profit for the year ended Dec 31, 2017 slipped 10 per cent to RM676.9 million compared with RM754.81 million in 2016 due to lower container throughput and higher fuel cost.
This was on the back of slightly higher revenue of RM2.08 billion compared with RM2.03 billion in 2016, it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
“Compared with the preceding year, overall container volume moderated by nine per cent, but profit after tax for the 12-month period improved to RM652 million due to a more favourable mix of gateway volume and also investment tax allowance,” it said.
The industry also witnessed a wave of mergers and acquisitions, some of which involved Westports’ clients.
Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, Westports managing director
Container operations handled 9.0 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs) in 2017.
Group managing director Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said the container shipping industry had gone through an unprecedented realignment changes that had affected almost all major liners in 2017.
“The industry also witnessed a wave of mergers and acquisitions, some of which involved Westports’ clients.
“These changes had adversely affected our total transhipment volume last year, but Westports have transitioned towards serving new services under the Ocean Alliance,” he said.
The company said pre-tax profit for the fourth quarter fell to RM145.43 million year-on-year compared with RM174.18 million previously, while revenue stood at RM573.95 million versus RM573.26 million previously.
As for outlook, it said Westports’ Container throughput was expected to register a modest growth rate of a low single-digit percentage for 2018. — Bernama