Malaysian port operator Westports Holdings (Westports) has seen a 17% year-on-year growth in its container throughput to 2.26 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) for the first quarter that ended 31 March 2015.
The company’s transshipment volumes also rose by 20% y/y, reflecting the positive contribution from the Ocean Three Alliance (O3) and other key customers of Westports. The O3 alliance members-CMA CGM, China Shipping Container Lines and UASC-use Westports’ Port Klang terminal as their regional hub.
Westports also achieved an all-time high throughput of 794,600 TEU in March 2015, exceeding the previous record of 764,000 TEU in November 2014. Its gateway volume increased by 11% y/y in the 1Q15, while conventional throughput grew by 4% y/y to 2.56 million tonnes.
Growth in Westports’ container throughput has urged it to place more emphasis on its port expansion plans.
“We have commenced our Container Terminal 8 expansion. Phase One is expected to be completed in early 2016 and Phase Two by mid-2017. Our container handling capacity will be increased from the current 11 million TEU to 13.5 million TEU by then,” said Westports CEO Ruben Emir Gnanalingam in a Bursa Malaysia filing.
In the meantime, Westports saw an 10% y/y increase in its profit to MYR120.18 million (USD33.4 million) in 1Q15 as compared to MYR109 million in 1Q14. Its revenue was recorded at MYR398.7 million in 1Q15, up 9.7% as compared to MYR363.15 million in the corresponding period last year.
The company has attributed the higher earnings in 1Q15 to the increase in container throughput. Westports expects its container throughput to grow between 5% to 10% y/y in 2015, driven mainly by its transshipment business as well as the company’s import and export segment.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
