KUALA LUMPUR: Westports Holdings Bhd is cautiously forecasting a low single-digit growth rate for the current financial year.
“This is barring a significant escalation of conflict in the Middle East and a sharp reduction in economic growth in many major developed countries,” it said in comments accompanying its results filing with Bursa Malaysia.
The port operator registered a net profit of RM204.51mil in the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, up from RM183.59mil in the year-ago quarter, which translates to an earnings per share of six sen against 5.38 sen.
Revenue in the quarter under review rose to 543.15mil from RM512.92mil in the comparative quarter.
In a statement, the company said the it registered a higher revenue on the back of 5% higher container volume of 2.67 million TEUs.
In the conventional segment, the company handled bulk cargoes amounting to 2.76 million metric tonnes.
“The intra-Asia regional trade underpinned Westports’ container volume growth as this trade lane accounted for 68% of the container handled,” it said.