Kingston Wharves
KINGSTON WHARVES has improved its market share of domestic cargo handled on the port of the capital city for the year to May 2000, due primarily to a resurgence in motor vehicle imports and increased domestic container traffic.
Kingston Wharves chairman A. Rafael Diaz said despite a flat national economy, total domestic cargo handled on the port increased by 4.3 per cent to 1.4 million tonnes over the five month period, of which the company dealt with 787,000 tonnes. This gave Kingston Wharves almost 56.2 per cent market share, with domestic cargo handled at 15.32 per cent above prior year levels, he said.
However, addressing shareholders at Kingston Wharves' annual general meeting at the Kingport Building, Newport West on Monday, Mr. Diaz said freight rates continued to be fiercely competitive, and was affecting both domestic and transshipment income - a trend he expected to continue for the forseeable future.
According to Mr. Diaz, "our market share of domestic containers handled increased to 43 per cent due to the return of Crowley containers to our facilities as roll-on, roll-off units."
Harbour Cold Stores received 2,927 tonnes for the year to date, 92 per cent of prior year levels, while Kingston Terminal Operators (KTO) has so far recorded 190,576 container moves, having attracted new lines and additional moves from major customers.
The Kingston Wharves chairman also announced that the unaudited group pre-tax profits attributable to shareholders increased by $5.7 million to $53.14 million for the first quarter to March 2000 when compared with the figures at March 1999. He said the preliminary outlook for the year is $210 million for the group.
In relation to a $363 million budget for capital improvements during the current year, Mr. Diaz said the company has already spent $103 million, part of which went towards the purchase of 136,000 square feet of land "on the other side of Third Street", and the "back lands behind Berth One."
As part of the efforts to modernise the facilities, Berths One and Two are being repaved at a cost of $172 million and is on schedule to be completed by year end. In addition, Kingston Wharves has received a quotation of some $12.35 million from construction firm E. Pihl & Sons to carry out emergency repairs to the decking of Berths Eight and Nine as a result of safety concerns about those facilities.
Mr. Diaz said that among their specific goals for the year 2000 were the improvement of relationships with customers, "which is progressing satisfactorily"; improved service quality, "which is on target"; increased vessel productivity, "with minor gains to date"; increased market share, "which we have achieved to date"; improved personnel motivation and cross-training, which he said was "off to as slow start", and port rationalisation, "which remains our long term goal ".
Noting increased competition from ports such as Freeport in the Bahamas, as well as Panama and Puerto Rico, Mr. Diaz said that in keeping with recent developments in other countries, the board of Kingston Wharves has taken the decision to appoint a committee to keep the company aware of current best practice in corporate governance.
The corporate governance committee, comprised of four external directors, will be chaired by Christopher Bovell. Other members are Eleanor Henry, William "Billy" McConnell and Peter Moss-Solomon.
