Eurogate Earns More

Bremen-based Eurogate Group can look back on a successful business performance in 2014, as it posts highest ever container handling volumes of 14.8 million standard containers (TEU), by 4.2 % year on year.

As a result, the company increased operating profit (EBIT) by 10.2% to EUR 76.5 million (previous year: EUR 69.4 million).

In addition, the group’s revenue was up by 5.3% and stood at EUR 566 million.

The group said that improved results were achieved due to a foresighted business strategy.

“The EUROGATE Group continues to be well-positioned to hold its own despite intensified competition. Wilhelmshaven is our answer to the ongoing trend towards ever larger vessels that we have observed over the past few years. In the meantime, the shipyards have mega container carriers with a capacity of 20,000 TEUs on their order books. We are expecting that five years from now all Far East – Northern Europe services will operate with ships in the 16,000- to 22,000-TEU class. This brings enormous challenges for the infrastructure of the ports,” says Emanuel Schiffer, Chairman of the EUROGATE Group Management Board.

The overall development of container handling volumes at the various Eurogate locations was mixed in 2014. Between them, the German terminals handled 8.1 million TEUs and thus sustained their market leadership. Bremerhaven,the group’s biggest German terminal location, stagnated at the previous year’s level with 5.8 million TEUs.

Recording  growth of 16.7% in 2014, the company’s Container Terminal Hamburg built on the growth dynamic of the pre-crisis years up to 2008. Handling volumes here totalled 2.3 million TEUs.

The Italian container terminals achieved slight growth of 0.3%. The trend in handling volumes was also very gratifying at the Ust-Luga Container Terminal, which despite the Russia crisis recorded a rise of 68.1% to 103,521 TEUs, the group said in its annual report.

Images: Eurogate