Singapore-based port operator PSA International has announced increases in revenue and throughput have increased net-profits by 13.4 percent to US$1.425 billion.
PSA put the rise partly down to one-off income from asset disposals.
The Temasek Holdings-owned company experienced rises in revenue of 3.3 percent to a total of $4.649 billion, whilst expenses increased by 4.4 percent to $3.12 billion.
During the financial year, PSA International handled a total 61.81 million TEU in ports worldwide, at an increase of 2.9 percent from the previous year.
More than half of this was handled at the PSA flagship Singapore Terminals, where 32.24 million TEU were transported, with a growth of 3.1 percent year-on-year.
Outside of Singapore, a further 29.57 million TEU were moved, representing an increase of 6.3 percent over 2012 on like-for-like basis.
This data comes despite the sale of stakes in Asia Container Terminal Holdings, and the halting of operations at the Gwadar Port in Pakistan.
The company continues to operate a number of terminals worldwide, such as Vietnam and Argentina.
Speaking of the announcement, PSA Group Chairman, Fock Siew Wah said “PSA has performed creditably amid a difficult year in 2013 which saw unsettling volatility, much uncertainty and uneven growth across the global economic landscape. We achieved 61.8 million TEU and made good progress on our portfolio of ports in China and Colombia. We also made various investments in facilities and equipment across the Group as we upgraded our capability to better serve our clients’ needs.”
“Our focus on service and on our customers did not waver and our commitment to excel and provide best-in-class service was not compromised. I want to express our thanks to our customers and business partners for their continued trust, support and constant high expectation of our ability to deliver. I want to also thank the PSA management, unions and staff for rising to the challenges of a difficult year.”
Looking to the future, Mr. Fock Siew Wah said that he foresaw persisting challenges, and that the unevenness in growth that dominated 2013 “stubbornly remain a common feature for 2014”.
“We will continue to invest in new terminals and upgrade older ones, ploughing back a high proportion of our annual earnings to serve our customers future requirements and growth,” added Group CEO, Mr. Tan Chong Meng.
“There is no foretelling the future with certainty but we can prepare ourselves by buttressing the range and depth of capabilities we have to offer our customers and partners, with a commitment to stay alongside them through the winds of change, ready to meet their ever-evolving needs with best-in-class service.”
