• By May 31, KPA had collected Sh48.9 billion, they expect to collect an additional Sh6.4 billion to hit their Sh55.3 billion target by June 30.
• MD attributes this success to the physical improvement of the facilities within the port.
The Kenya Ports Authority is projecting Sh15.4 billion profit after tax this financial year, the highest in the history of the Mombasa based parastatal.
Managing Director Daniel Manduku on Friday said they expect to collect total revenue of Sh55.3 billion by the end of this financial year, June 30.
The MD said by May 31 this year, KPA had collected Sh48.9 billion.
This month, they expect to collect an additional Sh6.4 billion to hit their Sh55.3 billion target.
“By May 31, which is one month to the close of the financial year, we had already collected Sh48,879,838,000 as revenue. Our expenditure by the end of May was Sh34,815,920,000 and finance income was at Sh1,898,705,000,” he said.
In a brief statement, Manduku said they expect KPA’s total expenditure for 2018-19 to hit Sh37.9 billion and profit to be Sh17.43 billion before taxes and other deductions.
“We, however, predict accruals of about Sh2 billion to bring the profit down to about Sh15.4 billion,” he said.
KPA will be one of the most profitable parastatals in the country at a time when such state departments are reeling from mismanagement as the government bails out.
Manduku, who was officially appointed in November last year after serving five months in an acting capacity, said the Sh15.4 billion will be the highest-ever profit to be recorded by KPA.
In the last financial year, KPA made a Sh9 billion profit, Manduku said.
He attributes this success to the physical improvement of the facilities within the port and the ongoing recruitment of human capital.
Manduku also said they have recorded the highest number of standard gauge railway freight trains transporting cargo from Mombasa to the Nairobi Inland Container Depot this year.
The port of Mombasa is doing an average of 10 SGR freight trains to Nairobi daily.
In terms of ship turnaround time, Manduku said they are working towards attaining 48-hour turnaround time for bigger vessels.
Last year, KPA registered four record performances.
The port of Mombasa recorded a performance of 190 moves per hour, inching closer towards the world record of 200 moves per hour.
Gross moves per hour is a maritime productivity term that defines the total container movement on loading, offloading and repositioning divided by the number of hours the vessel is at berth.
Manduku said Khalifa Port, which is one of Abu Dhabi’s flagship ports, crossed the 200 moves per hour benchmark in 2015.
He said they aim to also break the record.
Since June, KPA has broken four of its own records, including 129 moves per hour, achieved by MV Ever Dynamic, then Container Vessel Livorno making 140 moves per hour and in October, MS Maxine made 181 moves per hour.
“We are now targeting to dispatch big vessels within 48 hours of arrival. That means we are setting a service time of 48 hours."
He added that once the target is met, it will be easier to sustain and manage the fixed berthing windows for all the vessels calling at the container terminal.
MV Ever Diamond, a Panama-flagged vessel, recorded 1,523 moves within an eight-hour shift.
In October, MSC Maxine made 1,450 moves within an eight-hour shift, while container carrier Livorno had registered 1,204 gross moves exceeding the previous record of 1,117 gross moves registered by MV Ever Dynamic.
MSC Maxine registered the 181 moves per hour during her maiden call at the port, which was an improvement of 20 per cent from the prior record.