Port of Esbjerg announces record revenue and profit third year in a row

The Port of Esbjerg announces a record revenue and profit for the third consecutive year with the annual report for 2013. The profit of 2013 increased to DKK 78.0 million from DKK 60.1 million in 2012. The revenue surged 25 % to DKK 215.5 million while the ordinary profit grew 3 % to DKK 62.1 million.

The growth was caused partly by increased activities in the offshore wind business with shipping of an offshore wind capacity of 1.6 GW from the Port of Esbjerg in 2013. This is a capacity equivalent to the total capacity installed in Europe in the same period. Port of Esbjerg also experienced growth within oil & gas, and the year was marked by the opening of a series of new ro-ro routes.

Esbjerg is a leading Northern European port

"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," says Port Director, Ole Ingrisch.

In 2013, the Port of Esbjerg invested DKK 130.5 million in the continued expansion of the port. The total investments for the past five years thus add up to DKK 803.0 million.

The annual report confirms the strong position of the Port of Esbjerg and of the companies based at the port, says the Chairman of the Port of Esbjerg, 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," says Flemming Enevoldsen.

New strategy maintains the direction

Esbjerg has now laid out its strategy for the next ten years and is sticking to ro-ro, oil & gas and offshore wind as the main foundations of the business. The Port will intensify the focus on customer service and customer-driven solutions and at the same time strengthen the organization with three new functional directors.

"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," says Flemming Enevoldsen.

For more information:

Ole Ingrisch, Port Director, oi@portesbjerg.dk / +45 4057 4300.

Flemming Enevoldsen, Chairman of the Board, fne@danishcrown.dk / +45 4043 1303.

Key figures 2013