Westports of Malaysia posted a net profit of RM139.8 million (US$39 million) in its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014, up 6.6% year-on-year. It also set a record net profit of RM512.2 million for the whole of last year, higher by 17.7% from RM435.3 million in 2013.
The port operator at Port Klang also recorded an 8% increase in operational revenue to RM385.9 million from RM357.3 million for the quarter under review, while container throughput increased 11.7% to 2.19 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from 1.96 million TEUs.
Full-year operational revenue came in 11% higher at RM1.5 billion compared to RM1.3 billion a year earlier, due mainly to the 12% increase in container throughput to 8.4 million TEUs.
Chief executive officer Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said 2014 was a momentous year for the company as it achieved its highest ever operational revenue, profit level, and container throughput volume.
“To enhance our growth momentum, Westports is laying the foundation for the next phase of expansion as we capitalize on the ever-rising container throughput levels while also supporting our clients’ strategic requirements such as the Ocean Three Alliance (O3),” he said in a statement.
Busan New Port installs more quay cranes
On the other hand, three new super-post-panamax twin lift quay cranes with a 24-row outreach and 49-meter height arrived recently at the Busan New Container Terminal (BNCT) in South Korea, bringing the total of new ship-to-shore cranes to 11. This effectively adds 700,000 TEUs of capacity to the port for a new total handling capacity of 2.5 million TEUs, and makes possible the further expansion after that by up to 3.5 million TEUs.
In addition, BNCT, also called Busan New Port, recently added eight straddle carriers and four automated rail-mounted gantry cranes to two newly constructed automated yard blocks and completed a new 16,000-TEU empty stacking area late last year.
“With no additional terminals planned to open until after 2019 in Busan and with all other terminals in New Port operating near their maximum capacity now, BNCT is the only container terminal able to provide Busan Port with major additional capacity, especially for mega-size vessels.” John Elliott, CEO of BNCT, explained.
“Our expansion comes at the right time for New Port which continues to show strong growth in volume and significant increases in both number and size of vessels calling here. Not a day goes by without a 13,000-TEU or bigger size vessel in New Port anymore.”
