Port of Rotterdam Ups 2014 Sales But Profit Slips Nearly 5 Percent

Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit (ex-Pieter Schelte) approaches a specially-designed and dredged berth at Maasvlakte 2, a new development in the Port of Rotterdam. Photo courtesy Kotug

AMSTERDAM, March 5 (Reuters) – The Port of Rotterdam Authority said on Thursday its net profit for 2014 fell 4.9 percent to 215 million euros ($237 million) on higher financing costs.

Europe’s largest port has been investing for years in the construction of “Maasvlakte 2,” a 1000 hectare extension, at an estimated total cost of 2.9 billion euros.

The port said 2014 sales rose 3.1 percent to 660 million euros, as land lease revenues rose 5 percent to 337.5 million euros.

Revenues from seaport duties were also higher, up 1.2 percent in line with a previously reported 1 percent rise in traffic by weight at the port.

In all, the port received 445 metric tons of goods in 2014 versus 440 metric tons in 2013.

Rotterdam Port is 70 percent owned by the city of Rotterdam and 30 percent owned by the Dutch state.

($1 = 0.9060 euros) (Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Jason Neely)

© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Subscribe for Daily Maritime Insights

Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update

— trusted by our 109,068 members