APM Terminals releases first quarter earnings

APM Terminals recently reported it delivered a $215 million profit and a return on invested capital of 12.9 percent in the first quarter of 2015.

The final profits were decreased due to major decreases in key oil-dependent markets, and revenue went up 4 percent due to an upswing in pass-through construction revenue. Outside of this, revenue went down by 3 percent compared to 2014; the likely reason was the weakening of local currencies against the U.S. dollar. This lowered revenue in U.S. dollar terms, as did the negative impact of low oil prices.

The number of containers handled through APM terminals fell by 2.6 percent from 2014 to 9.1 percent. This decrease is likely attributable to the divestment of APM Terminals in Portsmouth, Virginia and Terminal Porte Océane S.A. in Le Havre, France during the third quarter of 2014.

APM Terminals grew less than the market due to lower volumes in key oil dependent markets. Excluding pass-through construction costs of $114 million, operating expenses of $802 million were comparable to last year.

The increase in the effective tax rate to 12.7 percent reflected the expiration of some tax incentives since the first quarter of 2014. Cash flow for capital expenditure was up $102 million - likely because of investments in such projects as APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico, and APM Terminals Moin, Costa Rica.