INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc (ICTSI) has secured a P7-billion loan to finance different port projects worldwide.
The credit facility will also be used to refinance ICTSI’s debts for prepayment next year.
It “ensures that ICTSI has the appropriate capital structure to deliver on our investment program,” ICTSI finance chief Martin O’Neil said in a statement.
The facility has maturities ranging from 5 to 7 years provided by Philippine-based commercial banks and institutional investors.
In the first nine months of 2008, ICTSI has invested P6.06 billion mainly to expand the handling capacity and improve the operating efficiency of the company’s operations in Manila, Brazil and Madagascar, and pay for the acquisition and rehabilitation of new terminals in Ecuador, Syria, Georgia, and Colombia.
At its flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), ICTSI is sinking in at least $100 million to construct two berths— 6 and 7. This will increase capacity by 25% to accommodate the expected surge in cargo volume in the next two years.
Despite the global financial crisis, ICTSI posted a 35% jump in consolidated revenues to P5.68 billion in the first three quarters of the year from P4.21 billion last year.
ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 1,021,499 TEUs in the third quarter of 2008, 26% higher compared to the 811,049 TEUs handled in the same period in 2007. For the nine-month period, total TEUs handled was 2,776,972 compared to 2,095,798 TEUs in 2007, or a 33% increase.
