March 26 - Denmark's Port of Esbjerg reported record-breaking revenue and profit for the third consecutive year in 2013, reflecting high activity in its three main business areas - ro-ro, oil and gas and offshore wind.

2013 profits increased to DKK78.0 million (USD14.31 million) from DKK60.1 million (USD11.1 million) in 2012. Revenue surged 25 percent year-on-year to DKK215.5 million (USD39.81 million).

The Port of Esbjerg attributed the growth to increased activities in the offshore wind sector, with 1.6 GW of capacity being shipped from the gateway during 2013 - which is the same amount of capacity installed across Europe during the same period, says the gateway. It also experienced growth fueled by oil and gas shipments, and the opening of a series of new ro-ro routes marked the year.

In 2013, the Port of Esbjerg invested DKK130.5 million (USD24.11 million) in the continued expansion of the port. The total investments for the past five years add up to DKK 803.0 million (USD143.34 million).

Port director, Ole Ingrisch, said: "2013 has been another excellent year for the Port of Esbjerg and a year in which we harvested the benefits of our investments in recent years. We are experiencing strong demand for our facilities and the new areas in our new area, Østhavnen, which opened in 2013."

The report confirms the strong position of the Port of Esbjerg and of the companies based at the port, says port chairman Flemming Enevoldsen: "The results of 2013 bring a very satisfying end to the roll-out of our ten year old master plan for the Port of Esbjerg. Today, Esbjerg is a leading Northern European port; we are the market leader in offshore wind and we are Denmark's undisputed hub for the offshore industry and ro-ro. And we are part of a very strong business cluster."

The Port of Esbjerg has now laid out its strategy for the next 10 years, and will continue to focus on ro-ro, oil and gas and offshore wind as its main foundations of the business.

"We are looking into the future with optimism and we continue to adapt to continued growth in our core businesses. However, we depend on political will to ensure stable and long-term framework conditions for both the port as well as for the industries based at the port. It is therefore crucial to eliminate the current uncertainty about the roll-out plan for offshore wind," Enevoldsen observed.

 

 

www.portesbjerg.dk