MALAYSIA's Westports Holdings Bhd saw first quarter net profit rise 13 per cent year on year to MYR139
MALAYSIA's Westports Holdings Bhd saw first quarter net profit rise 13 per cent year on year to MYR139.9 million (US$34.3 million) on 7.8 per cent higher revenue that stood at MYR415.18 million. Westports attributed the higher revenue mainly to 12 per cent growth in container volume that totalled 2.53 million TEU and the implementation of a container tariff hike, starting from March 1, reported Malaysia's Star Online.
'Transshipment containers improved by 15 per cent to 1.71 million TEU while gateway volume increased by seven per cent to 820,000 TEUs,' the company said.
Westports group managing director Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam was quoted as saying: 'Westports enjoyed favourable volume recovery momentum after having transitioned successfully to a new baseline and transshipment volume in the previous year.
'The continued growth at the Intra-Asia segment has further fuelled container volume recovery as Westports achieved an overall container volume growth of 12 per cent, outpacing the industry's average trend on container volume.'
He said Westports was expecting to achieve higher overall container throughput in 2019 with growth coming from both the gateway and transshipment segments.
'We are also finalising the planning details for the multi-billion proposed container terminal expansion and would be concluding the necessary detailed studies in the coming quarters,' he said.
On the current year prospects, Westports said the container throughput was expected to register a single-digit percentage growth rate in 2019.
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