KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 22): There's another delay on the container tariff hike at Port Klang. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Westport Holdings Bhd said the implementation of the container tariff hike has been delayed for the second time to Nov 1, 2015, instead of Oct 1.

Port Klang Authority has issued a letter to inform Westports Holding on the delay. However, the regulator did not reveal the reason for the second delay.

The implementation was first scheduled for Sept 1. It was then postponed to Oct 1.

The Transport Ministry had on Aug 5, approved a container tariff revision to be implemented in two phases, with an average increase of 15% in each.

Phase one of the revision was initially announced to be effective by Sept 1, and the second hike would be implemented three years later on Sept 1, 2018.

The revised tariff encompasses container terminal handling charges for import, export, transhipment, shifting and storage charges for container, as well as handling charges for heavy lift or uncontainerised cargo.

It was reported the last revision of the container tariff at Port Klang was implemented about 14 years ago.

The tariff hike is expected to contribute to a 12% and 13% increase in Westports’ earnings for financial year 2016 forecast (FY16F) and financial year 2017 forecast (FY17F) respectively, according to a note by AmResearch Sdn Bhd on Aug 3.

Westports (fundamental: 1.45; valuation: 0.9) shares closed 2 sen or 0.46% lower at RM4.30 today, for a market capitalisation of RM14.63 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.)