Corporate results: PICT posts higher earnings as it adopts austerity

Operational efficiency pulls expenses down considerably, enhancing the bottom-line.

KARACHI:

Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) posted a profit of Rs1.1 billion for the half-year ended June 30, up 61.1% from the corresponding six-month period of 2012 when the company’s earnings were Rs710.3 million, according to a notice sent to the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Thursday.

While the company’s half-yearly revenues increased 16% to Rs3.8 billion, terminal operating costs recorded a decrease of 2.8%. An increase in the top-line coupled with a slight decline in operating costs resulted in a gross profit of over Rs2 billion, which is up 41.5% compared to January-June 2012.

PICT’s operational efficiency seems to have gone through a major shift during the period under review, as nearly all key expenses – ranging from terminal operating costs to administrative expenses, finance costs and other charges – have declined noticeably, thus pushing the basic earnings per share of the company from Rs6.3 in the first half of 2012 to Rs10.4 in January-June 2013.

The majority shareholding of PICT was with the Marine Group of Companies until last year. But the Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc Mauritius Limited (ICTSIML) purchased a 6% stake in PICT at Rs150 a share in October through a tender offer on the KSE while signing a separate share purchase agreement with majority stakeholders. Subsequently, ICTSIML kept buying shares from various stakeholders, driving the company’s share price up to Rs275.28 a share on December 14, up from Rs170.7 a share exactly a month before.

According to a July 9 notice posted on the KSE website, ICTSIML’s direct and indirect ownership in PICT is 64.5%.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2013.

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