* The effect of US reciprocal tariffs on businesses of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.(ICTSI) is still too premature to tell, chairman and president Enrique K. Razon, Jr. said
* Razon said the group has a diverse portfolio, with US trade accounting for only 3% of the total
* Operations in the Port of Manzanillo in Mexico could potentially bear the greatest impact though
* Last year, ICTSI was awarded the 25-year contract to operate and modernize the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex, which it renamed Visayas Container Terminal
During the global port operator’s annual stockholders’ meeting on April 24, Razon said US President Donald Trump’s daily “flip flopping” on the issue is “creating chaos throughout the global economy,” noting “It’s… too early to tell how these tariffs will finally settle when all the dust has settled.”
ICTSI no longer has operations in the US after its unit, ICTSI Oregon, officially terminated its 25-year lease agreement to operate Terminal 6 at the Port of Portland, Oregon in 2017. The group is currently involved in 32 terminal operations, including concessions and port development projects, in 19 countries worldwide.
This year, Razon said he is excited about “how we can further outdo ourselves” following ICTSI’s “best year ever” last year.
In 2024, Razon said ICTSI set records “across the board financially and in operational efficiency,” although “not without challenges in global politics.”
The port operator reported an all-time high net income attributable to equity holders of $849.8 million in 2024, a 66% surge from $511.53 million earned in 2023.
Moreover, Razon said new record volumes were recorded in a number of ICTSI’s terminals, including, among others, Contecon Manzanillo S.A. (CMSA), Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), and Manila International Container Terminal (MICT). (with PortCalls)*
