Port operator PSA reports 25% drop in 2024 net profit despite moving more containers
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PSA reported in January that it handled 100.2 million twenty-foot containers at its port terminals during the year, up 5.6 per cent on 2023.
PHOTO: PSA
SINGAPORE – Earnings at PSA International plunged in 2024 despite the firm moving record numbers of containers at its ports in Singapore and overseas.
Net profit for the 12 months to Dec 31, 2024, came in at $1.095 billion, down 25.2 per cent from $1.463 billion in 2023, due to higher operating costs and non-cash impairments to account for a weaker economic outlook.
The port operator racked up revenue of $7.7 billion, 8.9 per cent higher than the previous year’s $7.1 billion, thanks to a record number of containers moved worldwide and higher demand from its supply chain businesses.
Group chairman Peter Voser said: “2024 was a year of measured recovery due to the confluence of geopolitical and trade tensions, ongoing conflicts, volatile interest rates, fiscal and inflationary pressures, and extreme climate changes.” He added that these factors “exacerbated ongoing global supply chain disruptions, impacting key markets and businesses”.
PSA reported in January that it handled 100.2 million twenty-foot containers, or twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), at its port terminals in 2024, up 5.6 per cent on 2023. It was the first time PSA had moved more than 100 million TEUs in a single year. The total comprised 40.9 million TEUs in Singapore and 59.2 million at its terminals overseas.
There was more container traffic at PSA ports worldwide as shipping routes were redrawn due to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which forced liners to reroute from the area and deploy more ships to keep their services reliable on longer routes.
Threats of strikes at some of the US’ most vital ports and businesses shipping goods in advance to avoid import tariffs imposed by the US also led to changes in shipping schedules.
PSA International group chief executive Ong Kim Pong noted that the firm’s “node-to-network strategy”, which is designed to integrate its port operations with broader logistics ecosystems, “has made significant headway in enhancing terminal performance, transforming isolated nodes into coordinated networks and ensuring the continuity of global trade flows”.
Initiatives under that strategy include a new $647.5 million Tuas warehousing facility equipped with advanced robotics and automation systems, which will improve Singapore’s ability to handle special cargo shipments, such as pharmaceuticals and chemicals, when it is ready in 2027.
The facility will complement the new Tuas Port, which will be the world’s largest automated terminal when fully complete in the 2040s.
PSA announced in February that Tuas Port has handled 10 million TEUs since operations began in September 2022.
