Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. said Thursday it is looking at a potential acquisition to expand its portfolio amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.
ICTSI chairman and chief executive Enrique Razon Jr. said the port operator was keenly on the lookout for opportunities to expand its portfolio even during the pandemic.
“[We] continue to be very active in seeking out potential acquisitions or new projects whose potential or valuation makes sense in this environment,” Razon said during the company’s virtual annual stockholders meeting.
“We have seen the severe impact of the pandemic on global trade flows starting from China in February and cascading to all by the end of March and at this juncture we still do not see the end in sight,” he said.
Razon said the impact of COVID-19 to the company was not as severe as expected, proving the tremendous resilience of its business.
“Reacting quickly to the situation we have slashed almost all new capital expenditures to almost nothing leaving only those projects that were about to be completed and those absolutely necessary,” he said.
ICTSI cut its capital expenditure budget to $160 million this year from the original $270 million.
“We have also drastically cut our operating cost budget by 11 percent across the board with further cuts planned,” Razon said.
“Given the great uncertainty of many economies and the global economy itself, we have shored up our balance sheet, and we will continue to seize every opportunity to further strengthen our finances going forward,” he said.
The company raised $400 million from the issuance of new senior unsecured notes to refinance and extend maturing obligations.
ICTSI reported a net income of $59.6 million in the first quarter, an 18-percent drop from $72.4 million in the same period last year on lower operating income, increase in interest on concession rights payable and COVID-19 related expenses.
Gross revenues from port operations fell 2 percent to $375.8 million from $383.8 million. ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 2,508,986 twenty-foot equivalent units in the first quarter, up by 1 percent from 2,478,672 TEUs in the same period in 2019.