Under the plan, the country’s biggest port operator will invest in and manage the port while Peru’s national port operator Enapu will operate the facility.
ICTSI is the third private port operator to offer to modernize Muelle Norte, after DP World, which offered a $1.3-billion initiative in 2008; and APM Terminals, which offered $1.9 billion last February.
If successful, ICTSI will add Muelle Norte to its stable of ports in the Americas which comprises Tecon Suape in Brazil, Port of Guayaquil in Ecuador, the Port of Buenaventura in Columbia, and Tecplata SA in Argentina.
Last year, ICTSI’s Americas operations were relatively flat, with its facilities handling 876,200 TEUs from 884,596 TEUs in 2008 due primarily to the contraction in volume at TSSA (Tecon Suape, S.A.) in Northern Brazil.
Volume at CGSA (Contecon Guayaquil, S.A.), in Ecuador, however, increased 6% due to growth related to the containerization of banana exports. The share of the container volume from the Americas slightly grew from 24% in 2008 to 25% in 2009.
Aside from the Americas, ICTSI operates terminals in Indonesia, Japan, China, Poland, Madagascar, Syria and Georgia. In the Philippines, it operates the Manila International Container Terminal, New Container Terminal 1 in Subic, Bauan Terminal in Batangas, Makar Wharf in General Santos, Sasa Wharf in Davao, and the Mindanao Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental.
In 2009, ICTSI reported a 15% drop in net income to $54.9 million over the year before.
The port operator attributed the decline to less volume due to tepid global trade, increased interest expense because of higher debt levels, and higher depreciation expense associated with continued investment in its container-handling capacities.
Consolidated revenues dropped 9% to $421.7 million in 2009 from $463.1 million in the previous year.
