International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICTSI) has seen its TEU throughput drop year-on-year (YoY) by 5% and net income by 12% in the first half of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The terminal operator handled consolidated volume of 4,799,765 TEU for the first six months of 2020, down from the 5,041,916 TEU handled in the same period in 2019.
The decrease in volume was primarily due to the decline in trade activities which resulted from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global trade and lockdown restrictions.
Excluding the contribution of the new terminal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ICTSI Rio, consolidated organic volume would have decreased six percent in the first half of 2020.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2020, total consolidated throughput was 11% lower at 2,290,779 TEU compared to 2,563,244 TEU in 2019.
Gross revenues from port operations for the first six months of 2020 decreased by four percent to $724.3 million from the $751.8 million reported in the same period in 2019.
In a statement released alongside its latest financial figures, the terminal operator described the crisis brought on by the pandemic as the “major challenge for most business globally”.
Additionally, it also said it expects the second half of the year to be “challenging” and “marked with uncertainties”.
However, it also insisted that it is “well-positioned to navigate through these uncertain times”, and cited its global network 32 terminals and the “resilience of its business model, agility and a strong capital structure.”
Enrique K. Razon Jr., ICTSI Chairman and President said:“Our primary focus and central to our decision-making since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak has been, and remains, the safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers, and our stakeholders.
“We took immediate action to preserve cash and reduced our capital expenditure in what has been a period of significantly reduced economic and international trade activity, brought about by protracted lockdown periods for many countries around the world.
“These prudent measures taken early on, our diversified portfolio and maintaining a very high level of service to our clients has helped cushion the impact from the pandemic and generated a resilient and better than expected performance.
