The port operator’s revenue for the year under review stood at RM2.15 billion, reaching its highest-ever level as Westports handled a record container volume of 10.88 million twenty-foot equivalents units (TEUs) compared with RM2.07 billion chalked up in the previous year.

Westports executive chairman and group managing director Ruben Emir Gnanalingam Abdullah said the company had seen the incoming headwinds at the beginning of 2023 and was cautious about its outlook.

“However, we ended the year by attaining new records, handling container volume of 10.88 million TEUs for the year and one million TEUs in a month in December 2023,” he said in a statement.

Ruben noted that Westports has signed the long-awaited new concession agreement with the authorities, extending the concession period by 58 years to 2082.

On its prospects, Westports said the company’s key exposure is to container volume within Asia.

“Barring a significant escalation of conflict beyond the Middle East and a sharp reduction of economic growth in many major developed economies, the company is cautiously forecasting a low single-digit growth rate over the previous year.

“The interest rate increase was a critical feature of last year’s economic landscape. The prospects of stable or lower rates in the current year could provide some buffer to consumers’ containerised consumption,” it added.

In a separate filing to Bursa Malaysia, Westports announced a second interim single-tier dividend of 87.2 sen per share for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023, to be distributed on Feb 29, 2024.

As at 2.44pm, Westport’s share price was up by 1 sen or 0.26% at RM3.81, giving it a market capitalisation of RM12.99 billion.