KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): Westports Holdings Bhd’s (KL:WPRTS) net profit for the second quarter rose 4.61% due to lower operating expenses.

Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) was RM203.75 million compared with RM194.76 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue inched up 1.9% to RM552.99 million from RM542.64 million attributed to increase in container revenue.

The port operator declared its first interim dividend of 8.89 sen per share — amounting to RM303 million — to be paid on Aug 21.

Westports’ most significant exposure is container volume within Intra-Asia. The Middle East tensions have impacted global supply chains, leading to regional container port congestion, which could affect the group’s container volume throughput.

To address the growing regional trade, Westports’ executive chairman and managing director, Datuk Ruben Gnanalingam Abdullah said in a statement that the Westports 2 container terminal expansion programme in Port Klang, when completed, will nearly double the current handling yard capacity from 14 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 28 million TEUs.

Just last month, the Ministry of Transport approved a concession agreement for Westports following an evaluation by the Public Private Partnership Unit (UKAS). The agreement was ratified at the end of last year.

For the first half of FY2024, Westports’ net profit increased by 7.9% to RM408.26 million from RM378.35 million, while revenue rose 3.84% to RM1.1 billion from RM1.06 billion.

Shares of Westports were unchanged at RM4.60 at Friday’s noon break, valuing the group at RM15.96 billion.