KUALA LUMPUR (July 31): Westports Holdings Bhd posted a marginal drop of 0.3% in its second-quarter net profit, on lower revenue.

The port operator's net profit fell to RM122.09 million or 3.58 sen per share in the three months ended June 30, 2015 (2QFY15) from RM122.49 million or 3.59 sen per share a year ago. 

Quarterly revenue also fell 0.9% to RM405.28 million from RM409.03 million in 2QFY14. 

However, container throughput increased 3% to 2.16 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) from 2.09 million TEUs for the period under review. 

Westports also declared a first interim dividend of 5.32 sen per share amounting to RM181 million for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2015 (FY15), payable on Aug 26, 2015.

For the cumulative six months period (1HFY15), Westports' net profit rose 4.6% to RM242.28 million or 7.1 sen a share from RM231.53 million or 6.79 sen a share in 1HFY14, mainly attributed to reduction of fuel cost while handling a commendable increase in container throughput which grew 10% to 4.42 million TEUs.

Westports said conventional throughput also increased to 5.1 million tonnes in 1HFY15 as it handled a higher quantity of cement, break bulk and dry bulk cargoes; these reflected the level of domestic economic activities.

Revenue for 1HFY15 increased 4.1% to RM804 million from RM772.18 million in 1HFY14.

“The group has achieved a strong set of results and we expect container throughput to grow for 2015, driven by both transhipment business as well as gateway-domestic throughput.

"And being a transhipment hub, Westports leverages on regional economic growth and dynamism for growth momentum," Westports chief executive officer Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said in a statement today. 

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Westports said it is maintaining its container throughput target of growing between 5% to 10% in 2015, driven mainly by both transhipment business as well as the import and export segment.

"We have commenced Container Terminal 8 (CT8) expansion plan in January this year. The first phase of the expansion, consisting of a 300-meter wharf and supporting port equipment and facilities, is expected to be completed in early 2016, while the second phase is expected to be operational by mid-2017.

"Our container handling capacity will increase to 13.5 million TEUs upon the completion of CT8 in mid-2017 from the present 11 million TEUs," it added.

The stock has been trading in an uptrend over the past few days on anticipation of the group posting better earnings in 2QFY15. 

As at 2.34pm, the counter was down eight sen or 1.91% to trade at RM4.10, 2.77 million shares done, bringing a market capitalisation of RM14.25 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)