KUALA LUMPUR: Westports Holdings Bhd's net profit fell 12.3 per cent to RM206.1 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (4Q23) from RM235.04 million a year ago.
This was due to the expected reduction in share of results of a joint venture which made a substantial write-back of impairment gain in 4Q22, Westports said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia today.
Its quarterly revenue, however, rose 6.3 per cent to RM554.1 million from RM521.14 million previously, driven by the increase in container turnover.
The company registered a lower earnings per share of 6.04 sen for the period compared to 6.89 sen in 4Q22.
For the full year, Westports' net profit rose 11.4 per cent to RM779.43 million from RM699.58 million a year earlier, while revenue increased to RM2.15 billion from RM2.07 billion.
The company declared a second interim dividend of 8.72 sen per share, payable on Feb 29.
For the year under review, Westports said it had achieved its highest-ever total revenue of RM2.15 billion, having handled a record container volume of 10.88 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The year ended with the company handling more than 1.0 million TEUs in December 2023, the highest monthly container volume.
Westports also attained another milestone in December by facilitating the cumulative movement of 3.0 million units of roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vehicles and equipment since its inception.
Westports executive chairman cum group managing director Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam Abdullah said the year was marked by extremities.
He added that the company saw the incoming headwinds at the beginning of 2023 and was cautious about the outlook.
However, Ruben said the company ended FY23 with new records in handling container volume of 10.88 million TEUs for the year and 1.0 million TEUs in a month in December 2023.
"The company also experienced the passing of our beloved founder, the late Tan Sri Datuk G. Gnanalingam.
"However, at the end of 2023, we subsequently signed the long-awaited new concession agreement with the authorities, extending the concession period by 58 years to 2082," he said in a separate statement.
On its prospects, Westports said its key exposure is to container volume within intra-Asia.
Barring a significant escalation of conflict beyond the Middle East and a sharp reduction of economic growth in many major developed economies, the company is cautiously forecasting a low single-digit growth rate over the previous year.
"The interest rate increase was a critical feature of last year's economic landscape. The prospects of stable or lower rates in the current year could provide some buffer to consumers' containerised consumption," it added.
