The locally-listed operator of Cambodia’s flagship deep-sea port, Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS), reported strong business performance in the second quarter of this year ended June 30, reflecting the recovery of the regional and global economies.
In a financial report filed to Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) on August 13, the state-owned enterprise (SOE) reported that it “continued an immense evolution to serve its business activities”, with 85,857,554,000 riel ($21 million) in revenue and 14,075,967,000 riel in net profit after tax for the April-June period, up 13.53 per cent and 68.77 per cent year-on-year, respectively, from 75,625,617,000 riel and 8,340,124,000 riel.
It did not specify which particular revenue measure (gross, net) it was referring to.
“This was the result of increasing in cargoes and containers throughput, and [a decline in] operating expenses and unrealised foreign exchange loss – Japanese yen – which [led to an] increase in operating profit and net profit compare[d] to [the second] quarter 2020,” PAS said.
The SOE booked earnings per share of 164.11 riel in the second quarter, and said the number of containers handled at the port also increased by 21.05 per cent, reaching a total of 181,941 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) compared to 150,302 TEUs in the second quarter of last year.
A TEU is an inexact unit of cargo capacity used in the shipping industry roughly equivalent to a container with internal dimensions measuring about 20 feet long, eight feet wide and 8.5 feet tall, or a volume roughly 38.5 cubic metres.
PAS president and CEO Lou Kim Chhun said the port operator would forge ahead with the development of a new multi-purpose terminal, remain in pursuit of the betterment of business and service operations and strive to achieve the highest benefits for its shareholders.
“PAS has strengthened the work efficiency and built additional infrastructure to meet the increasing demand of customers and the growing economy.
“Besides, the multi-purpose terminal is designed to contribute and promote such important fields as agriculture, agro-industry, industry, trade, and especially in order to support the export of such Cambodian agricultural products as rice, dry tapioca and bulk cargo, in response to the government’s market expansion strategy for rice export, as well as the provision of logistic services for oil exploration within” Cambodian maritime territories, he said.
“The multi-purpose terminal is also designed to import coal to be used for the generation of electricity and cement production. PAS is also in the process of its New Container Terminal Project which is still under architectural detail designs,” he said.
The terminal will also be able to handle Post-Panamax-class international ships with a storage capacity of 60,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) – or those carrying around 5,000 TEUs, he added.
Meanwhile, Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) on August 9 reported 11.77 per cent and 0.22 per cent year-on-year surges in container throughput and number of cargo vessels handled at the port in the January-July period. It logged a 6.67 per cent rise in cargo and fuel oil throughput.
