Piraeus Port Sees Profit Surge under COSCO’s Ownership

Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) ended 2017 with a net income of EUR 11.3 million (USD 14 million), a 68.6 percent increase compared to EUR 6.7 million (USD 8.3 million) seen a year earlier.

The turnover rose by 7.7 percent to EUR 111.5 million in 2017 from EUR 103.5 million posted in 2016.

The operations at the container terminal also showed an increase in revenue of 53.1 percent. The container throughput stood at 453,264 TEU in 2017, against 265,716 TEU in 2016.

PPA said that the income from the concession fee of the Pier II and Pier III increased approximately by EUR 3.4 million or 8.4 percent.

The port authority is to pay EUR 4.1 million concession fee to the Hellenic Republic for the year 2017, compared to EUR 3 million in 2016 and EUR 2 million in 2015.

2017 was the first full year of operation for the port under a new owner, COSCO Group. In August 2016, COSCO acquired a 51 percent stake in PPA for EUR 280.5 million. The company has an option to acquire the remaining share of 16 percent in the port over a period of five years for EUR 88 million.

The deal includes an investment of EUR 350 million in the port over a period of ten years, which would be used to update the cruise and shipbuilding industry and develop the port’s facilities and services.

“The first full year of the new management in the port of Piraeus was marked by very positive results which are mainly attributed to the employees of the company. We believe that in the coming years, with the implementation of our investment plan which is already in progress, we will further improve both the business operation and the economic efficiency of PPA SA,” Fu Chengqiu, Chairman and CEO of PPA SA, commented.

PPA also signed a memorandum of understanding with Shanghai International Port Group in June 2017. Under the deal, the two parties intend to cooperate on project studies, staff training, information exchange and technical assistance, among others.

In December 2017, PPA inked a new collective labor agreement with employees which is said to ensure the remuneration and working conditions for all workers.