ICTSI allots $580 million for local, overseas projects
International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has set aside $580 million this year to expand its seaport facilities here and abroad after ending 2024 with record-high net income.
The port operator led by Enrique Razon Jr., in a disclosure on Thursday, said its capital expenditures (capex) for 2025 would fund projects in Batangas, Manila and Cagayan de Oro as well as Mexico, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Brazil.
ICTSI’s latest capex guidance is 12 percent more than the $517.14 million it allocated last year.
Razon, the company’s chair and president, said the improved bottom line has given the company “financial strength and flexibility to pursue new opportunities and invest in existing projects.”
The listed company is set to start within this year the construction of an $800-million seaport in Bauan, Batangas.
The facility, which is designed to handle over 2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo each year, will include 900 meters of quay and at least eight ship-to-shore gantry cranes. The completion of the first berth is targeted by the end of 2027.
Visayas, Mindanao
ICTSI is also pouring in $100 million to upgrade the capacity of Mindanao International Container Terminal Services Inc.
This subsidiary was granted last year secured a 25-year extension of its concession period, or until 2058, to operate the Misamis Oriental port.
In Misamis Oriental, ICTSI plans to extend the berth by 300 meters, build more support infrastructure and acquire additional port equipment in order to boost capacity from the current 350,000 TEUs.
As these develop, ICTSI is also rehabilitating the terminal facility and bringing in more equipment to improve operations at the Visayas Container Terminal.
More cargo
The global port operator grew its net income by 66 percent to $849.80 million last year, thanks to busier trading activities.
ICTSI handled 13.07 million TEUs of cargo shipments last year, up 2 percent from 12.75 million TEUs a year earlier.
The top line in 2024 jumped by 15 percent to $2.74 billion from $2.39 billion.
Meanwhile, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization leaped by 18 percent to $1.78 billion.
According to data from the Philippine Ports Authority, the local port industry facilitated a cargo volume of 289.52 million metric tons (MT) last year, improving by 6 percent from 272.46 million MT the year before.
Bulk of the shipments were imported goods amounting to 108.56 million MT, most of which were received in seaports in Manila and northern Luzon.
