Westports profit rises 42% to 1.03 billion ringgit in nine months
Key Facts
Malaysian port operator Westports' net profit rose 42% year on year to 1.03 billion ringgit in the first nine months of 2026, The Star reported on October 22, slightly exceeding MBSB Research's expectations. Revenue for the period increased 37.2% to 2.83 billion ringgit, in line with the research firm's forecasts. The company's cumulative core earnings reached 80% of the firm's full-year earnings estimate. For the third quarter, the company reported net profit of 342.56 million ringgit. That compared with profit of 271.11 million ringgit in the corresponding period of 2025, according to the newspaper's coverage of the results filing published on October 21.
Third-quarter operating revenue reached 798 million ringgit, up 20% year on year, according to The Star's coverage of the company's filing. The company attributed the increase to higher port service tariffs and revenue from value-added services. Westports distinguishes construction revenue from its core business in its annual report, stating that the former "is not revenue derived from core operations". Container throughput rose 5.9% year on year in the third quarter, compared with faster operating revenue growth over the same period. Transshipment volumes increased 12.3%, according to figures reported by the newspaper. By contrast, gateway container volumes tied to domestic trade fell 2.4%. The decline in this activity came amid weak imports, alongside an increase in transshipment volumes.
The results follow an increase in profit after tax in the previous year, with Westports' annual report showing 998,311 thousand ringgit in 2025. Profit after tax stood at 897,982 thousand ringgit in 2024, according to the same report. On the operational front, annual container throughput reached 11.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2025. That compared with 11.0 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2024. In its previous year's results filing, the company had forecast positive single-digit container volume growth in 2026.
In the market, Westports shares rose 2.36% in early trading on October 22, according to The Star. The price reached 6.93 ringgit during that session following the results announcement. MBSB Research raised its earnings estimates for the company for financial years 2026 to 2028 by between 2.8% and 3%. The revisions reflected assumptions of lower operating costs, according to the research firm, whose assessment was cited by the newspaper. The firm specifically identified depreciation and electricity costs among the items underpinning its new earnings assumptions.
Looking ahead, Maybank Investment forecast a further 5% increase in port tariffs in January 2027, according to The Edge Malaysia. The bank pointed to the gradual pass-through of transshipment tariff increases through customer contract renewals. In its assessment of capacity expansion, the bank warned that profit margins could come under pressure. It linked this to the possibility that expansion costs would rise before contributing to earnings. It said: "Assuming costs ramp up before contributing to earnings, this could lead to margin compression."