PETALING JAYA: Westports Holdings Bhd’s net profit in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2018 (Q4FY18) tumbled 31% to RM145.54 million, from RM210.98 million a year ago, due to lower effective tax rate in FY17 as a result of investment tax allowance (ITA) claim.
Revenue for the quarter declined 27% to RM418 million, compared with RM573.9 million in the previous corresponding quarter, mainly attributed to adoption of MFRS 15 from Jan 1, 2018.
The group has proposed to declare a second interim dividend of 6.33 sen per share amounting to RM215.9 million, payable on March 1, 2019.
Westports’ full-year net profit was down 18% to RM533.47 million, from RM651.5 million a year ago, while revenue fell 23% to RM1.61 billion, against RM2.09 billion previously.
Its managing director Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said in a statement that the group is expecting to achieve higher overall container throughput in 2019 with further organic growth momentum on last year’s baseline volume level.
“We are also evaluating details of the proposed container terminal expansion as Westports plan to further strengthen the company and Port Klang’s role as the pre-eminent port for the nation’s gateway trade and also as one of the main transhipment hubs in the Southeast Asia region,” he added.
Westports handled a total container throughput of 9.5 million twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) last year, a growth of 6% over the previous year.
Gateway volume increased by 18% over the previous year, reflecting favourable domestic economic activities, while transhipment throughput edged higher to 6.2 million TEUs.
