Thessaloniki Port Auth.: Investments up to 200 million euros in the next five years

Investments amounting to 150-200 million euros are planned for the next five years by the Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH SA), while from March 2018 – when the port was transferred to private management – until today, a total of about 53 million have been invested. 8 million of which from the beginning of 2022. The above was pointed out by the general financial director of the company, Henrik Jepsen, during today’s general meeting of shareholders, which approved a dividend of 1, 50 euros / share. Its operations were carried out online with a quorum of 84.64%, while during the proceedings it was pointed out that the pandemic had a limited impact on the company’s revenue, of the order of 3%.

More specifically, during his initial position in the work of the general assembly, the executive chairman of the board of OLTH SA, Athanasios Liagos, reminded that the contractor for the 6th pier, the most important project in the “package” of mandatory investments for the port, was named. The 6th pier is estimated at 150 million euros and will allow the reception of the so-called “ultra large container vessels”, ships with a capacity of up to 24,000 TEUs (unit of measurement of containers). “It is a project that will change conditions for the port”, Mr. Liagos noted, while Mr. Jepsen pointed out that OLTH SA has sufficient financial resources, amounting to over 100 million euros, to finance its project. “At the moment there is no immediate need for (seeking) funding, but we are exploring all the options: markets, the EU and banks, which have already stated that they are willing to finance it if requested.”

New STS cranes

For his part, the CEO of OLTH SA, Franco Nicola Cupolo, reminded that on May 2, the two new STS cranes will be picked up at the port of Thessaloniki (s.s. from Shanghai), (s.s. with a total value of 15.7 million euros and a lifting capacity of 50 and 65 tons respectively) which will be assembled by mid-July, to enable the port to serve direct main-line ships with a capacity of more than 10,000 TEUs.

Regarding the cooperation agreement with the Economic Zone of the Suez Canal (SCZone), Mr. Liagos, noted that the goal is to develop and increase the operational activities of the port of Thessaloniki through other freight routes, through large logistics centers directly to the markets of Central Europe (and beyond). He announced that working groups have already been set up, which will specify the areas for the development of synergies, which may include -among other things- the creation of shipping lanes for vulnerable products, but also the further development of the cruise.

Cruises

Especially for the cruise industry, he reminded that 62 arrivals of 17 different cruise ships from 12 companies are planned for this year, while he added that, traditionally, 80% of the income from the cruise industry goes to the local community (eg, restaurants and shops) and 20 % to the port. Mr. Liagos also referred to the cooperation with “Amazon Web Services”, with the aim of creating a “smart” port, but also to the effort made in the port for the integration of the cutting-edge blockchain technology.

“2021 was a demanding year for the port, which was affected by the pandemic, but not significantly, so we can grow,” said Jepsen, adding that despite Covid-19, the turmoil in logistics, but also the increase in energy prices afterwards, revenues remain on an upward trajectory: the company’s turnover amounted to 76.9 million euros, increased by 7.2% and net profit after taxes amounted to 21.1 million euros (+ 5%). Regarding the dry port that has been created in Sofia, the representatives of the management of OLTH admitted that in the first year the company lost money from this pioneering investment, which is the first of its kind in the region, but this year there is already an increase in moving cargo from and to the infrastructure created in the Bulgarian capital. When asked by a shareholder how the company’s size moved in the first four months of the year, Mr. Liagos replied that he could not make any relevant announcements, but “the market is good and we are better than last year.”