Result € 114 million. Good financial result for Port of Rotterdam Authority
04-16-2008
The result for the Port Authority in 2007 is € 114 million, € 22 million more than the normalized result the Port Authority achieved in 2006. The main reasons for the good result are the rise in income through the growth in throughput, whereas operating expenses fell slightly. The Executive Board of the Port Authority is satisfied with these figures. “A solid financial position is absolutely essential if we are to borrow funds on the capital markets on favourable conditions. And we have to attract these funds for our investments in the existing port area and Maasvlakte 2”, says CFO Thessa Menssen.Operating income (mainly harbor dues and the lease of sites) rose by 7.1%. Harbor dues rose by € 22 million to € 278 million, and contract income by € 9 million to € 196 million. Total operating income was € 488 million, € 33 million more than in 2006.
Operating expenses fell by € 2 million to € 307 million compared to the normalized operating expenses in 2006. The number of employees fell from 1,245 to 1,186.
The financial position of the Port Authority, which was privatized in 2004, is undergoing favourable development. Both the net profit and the EBITDA and ROCE have shown a positive trend for a number of years. In view of the Port Authority’ structurally high investment ambitions, a solid financial position is extremely important. The Port Authority invests some € 200 to € 250 million each year in the existing port area, and this coming autumn will see the start of construction of Maasvlakte 2, a development that will cost a total of about € 3 billion. A healthy financial position means that the Port Authority can borrow funds on attractive conditions. This is also in the interests of businesses in the port, as the costs of investment in infrastructure for individual clients are in fact passed on to these clients.
The Port Authority invested € 235 million in 2007, compared to € 231 million in 2006. Investments in 2008 will exceed € 300 million. The Port Authority is investing heavily in the existing area in order to facilitate throughput in a number of sectors (containers, neobulk, dry bulk, energy, tank storage).
The Port Authority is paying out € 50.8 million over 2007 as dividend to the Municipality of Rotterdam: € 40.8 million as a regular dividend and € 10 million as an extra dividend. In addition, € 50 million will be paid out to the Municipality as part of the earn-out scheme that was agreed in the Investment Agreement in 2005, which set out the arrangements for the State to become a shareholder in the Port Authority. The State became a shareholder in 2007 and will receive a dividend of € 1.2 million on its share capital.
The Port Authority expects the result for 2008 to be higher than that for 2007.
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