KUCHING: Samalaju Industrial Port Sdn Bhd’s (SIPSB) container throughput has soared to 7,960 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year as compared to 724 TEUs in 2021 when the service was launched late that year.
This represents an increase of more than 10 times, said Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd (BPHB) group CEO Datuk Mohammad Medan Abdullah.
“We have made significant progress in our efforts to grow the containerised cargo business at Samalaju Port. In our first full year of offering container handling services, we have handled almost 8,000 TEUs of containerised cargo — a feat that was supported by our continuous engagement with Samalaju Port customers throughout the year,” he added in the company’s 2022 annual report.
On Sept 12, 2022, SIPSB, a subsidiary of BPHB, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ZR Industrial Group Sdn Bhd , which is currently in the process of constructing an integrated steel plant in Samalaju Industrial Park.
Mohammad said the MoU signifies the intention of both companies to discuss, cooperate and collaborate in respect of port and facilities requirement in assisting the steel plant project.
Samalaju Industrial Port, which recorded total cargo throughput of 6.73 million tonnes in 2022 (2021: 5.33 million tonnes) is a purposebuilt port to cater for energyintensive industries in the adjacent Samalaju Industrial Park. In 2022, BPHB’s wholly-owned subsidiary — Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd (BPSB) — handled 364,169 TEUs and posted total cargo throughput of 43.98 million tonnes. Mohammad said in combination, BPSB and SIPSB raised total container TEU by 4.4 per cent last year from 2021.
Meanwhile, Mohammad has been succeeded by Ruslan Abdul Ghani as the new BPHB CEO from March 1, 2023.
In an operational review on the Samalaju Industrial Port, BPHB said the former recorded 353 vessel calls in 2022 (2021: 262) with turnover rose to RM164.66 million (RM137.3 million). SIPSB narrowed its pre-tax loss to RM23.62 million in FY2022 from RM38.12 million in FY2021.
The loss in FY2020 was RM66.96 million.
“In terms of operational milestones, we handled our largest shipment of products of 34,700MT to Turkey and recorded our highest cargo productivity for Press Metal’s main raw material, aluminium oxide, of 12,392 tonnes in one day.
Our level luffing crane and mobile harbour crane at SIPSB also resumed operations in October 2022, giving us a productivity boost,” said the report.
On challenges facing SIPSB going forward, the report said: “Our key challenge lies in the development of initiatives to deliver effective solutions that support our stakeholders as we transition towards a gradual recovery from the (COVID-19) pandemic.
The pandemic has highlighted the need for continued operational resilience of our processes and infrastructure which we need to pay close attention to especially as we near the end of our concession period.
” On outlook and prospects, the report said:” Moving forward, SIPSB is committed to driving growth by consistently enhancing the performance of our equipment to improve productivity and uptime. We believe that investing in latest technologies and digitalisation will enable our equipment to operate at peak performance levels.
“We also look to maximising value throughout cost optimisation by continuously evaluating our operating expenses and finding effective methods to streamline and reduce costs.
By doing so, we can create a more sustainable and profitable port which benefits our stakeholders.” In financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022), BPHB saw its group total revenue surged to RM793.1 million (FY2021: RM735.3 million), comprising income from port services rendered of RM731.8 million, bulking services RM39.32 million and rental income RM20.1 million.
The operating revenue comprised revenue from geographical locations in Malaysia of RM766.54 million and RM24.72 million from Brunei Darussalam.
Revenue from liquefied natural gas (LNG), which formed 48.99 per cent of the total operating revenue, was still the main revenue contributor.
“During the year under review, revenue generated from provision of port services at Bintulu Port of RM542.86 million increased by 9.35 per cent compared to that of the previous year of RM496.43 million. “BPSB also provided marine services at Muara district, Brunei Darussalam.
The contract to provide pilotage and towage services which commenced on Feb 1 2020 expired in July 2022 and from Aug 1 2022, the contract was to provide pilotage service only for one year until July 2023.
“The business venture undertaken by BPSB at Muara district, Brunei Darussalam reaped an additional operating revenue of RM24.72 million, thus making up the total revenue from port services by BPSB of RM567.58 million in 2022, an increase of 6.25 per cent compared to RM534.17 million in 2021.
“Revenue from the provision of port services at Samalaju Industrial Port increased by 19.98 per cent to RM164.24 million against RM136.89 million recorded previously while revenue from bulking facilities of RM39.32 million showed an increase of 4.0 per cent from RM37.81 million recorded in 2021.
The increase in cargo volume handled at all three operating subsidiaries also contributed to this outstanding operating revenue,” said BPHB.
In line with higher turnover, BPHB group’s pre-tax profit rose to RM178 million last year from RM126.32 million in 2021.
