Westports’ 2Q net profit rises to RM203.74 mln, declares 8.89 sen dividend

Westports Holdings Bhd's net profit improved to RM203.74 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2Q FY2024) versus RM194.76 million registered in the same period last year. Revenue for the period under review rose by six per cent to RM552.99 million compared with RM542.64 million posted a year ago, the port operator said in a Bursa Malaysia filing today. Net profit increased to RM408.26 million from RM378.35 million for the first half of FY2024, while revenue advanced to RM1.10 billion from RM1.06 billion. Westports attributed the higher performance to an increase in container revenue. It also declared its first interim single-tier dividend of 8.89 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024. On the outlook, Westports said intra-Asia trade continues to be significant for the group coupled with the continuing tension in the Middle East, which is affecting the global supply chain, and this cumulatively builds up towards congestion in regional container ports. 'The intra-Asia regio nal trade underpinned Westports' container volume growth as this trade lane accounted for 65 per cent of the container handled. 'The ongoing regional port congestion and global supply chain disruptions could emerge as a factor influencing the overall volume throughput. As such, we maintain our cautious expectation of a low single-digit growth rate for this year over the previous year,' it said. Westports noted that in the conventional segment, it handled bulk cargoes amounting to 5.68 million tonnes, which will support domestic economic activities as the greater throughput was for project cargoes, ingots, coils and soybeans, among others. On the port congestion issues, executive chairman and group managing director Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam Abdullah said the regional port congestion has eased, and the experience highlighted the interconnectedness of Southeast Asia container shipping hubs, like Port Klang and Singapore. 'It underscored the importance of having multiple ports to handle the growing region al trade as they work in tandem, to ensure the resilience and reliability of the overall regional and global supply chains,' he said. Source: BERNAMA News Agency