South American terminal and towage group SAAM reported rising income during H1 2022 as demand climbed for maritime logistics in the region
A slight drop in towage income was more than offset by rising revenues from terminal operations on the back of increasing throughput and ship traffic in Latin American ports.
SAAM reported net income of US$43.5M in the first six months of this year, up 19% over the same period last year.
Its total group sales revenue during H1 2022 was US$409.6M, up 15% year-on-year, and its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$139.1M, up 5% from H1 2021.
“Our results grew during H1 2022 thanks to strong performances from our logistics and port terminals units,” said SAAM chief executive Macario Valdés.
“This offset the effects of a slight drop in the towage division [during Q2 2022], along with higher costs due to inflation and oil prices.”
SAAM’s Q2 2022 sales were US$207.4M, up 15% from Q2 2021, and net income was US$20M, up 5%.
SAAM’s milestones during H1 2022 included the acquisition of Standard Towing, which added three tugs in Canada and signing an agreement to purchase the towage business from Ian Taylor in Peru.
During Q2 2022, SAAM signed an agreement to purchase tugs from Starnav in Brazil, which is currently under review by antitrust authorities.
SAAM’s investments in H1 2022 included adding two new tugs in Chile and one in Canada. The company will also invest US$9M in San Antonio Terminal Internacional for new port equipment.
In July, Sanmar-built newbuild tugboat SAAM Condor arrived in the Port of Callao, Peru, to commence operations assisting larger ships into the harbour. The tugboat was built to Robert Allan’s RAmparts 2400SX design.
SAAM Towage technical director Pablo Caceres said this was the sixth tugboat built by Sanmar for the owner.
