KUALA LUMPUR: Westports Holdings Bhd registered a net profit of RM151.85mil in the first quarter of the financial year ended March 31, 2022, which was a 27.11% decline over the previous corresponding quarter.

       In a statement, the port operator said pre-tax profit was impacted by non-recurrent insurance recoveries as well as a surge in fuel cost by 52%.

       Meanwhile, the group's bottomline was weighed down by its share of losses from a 50% investment in Port Klang Cruise Terminal Sdn Bhd and a tax provision of RM97mil due to an effective tax rate of 39% from the prosperity tax.

       Revenue for the quarter came to RM516.36mil, a 1.6% improvement over 1Q21. The group said the container segment contributed 88% of the revenue with a throughput volume of 2.39 million TEUs.

       According to group managing director Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam Abdullah, the group has resolved all its prior-year container yard congestion issues with the lifting of local lockdown measures and marginally lower volume in 1Q22, coupled with full access to container yard ground slots and reefer sockets.

       Nevertheless, he noted that external developments had become more challenging over the course of the quarter.

       "Military incursion, sanctions, inflationary pressures and selected ports closure at various times in the Far East have collectively added to the ongoing supply chain challenges.

       "The Company experienced a 52% increase in fuel cost as our terminal operating equipment uses fuel input which is priced commercially and is not subsidised," he said in a statement.

       Moving forward, Ruben said the group had formed a Board Sustainability Committee in January 2022, which will oversee policies and practices related to environmental, social and governance and sustainability matters.

       "In its second meeting in April 2022, the BSC recommended and the Company will now commit to a sustainability aspiration and target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

       "We will primarily focus and rely on emissions intensity reduction and decarbonisation to achieve the target by 2050," he added.

       Meanwhile, Ruben said Westports had raised the minimum wage of its staff to RM1,500 from Jan 1, 2022, to mitigate the expected higher cost of living.