Eurogate, Europe's biggest container stevedore, reported sharply lower profit and revenue in 2009 driven by a double digit decline in traffic across its network of terminals. The Bremen-based group's net profit tumbled 59 percent to $63.6 million from $155 million in 2008 on revenue down 17.3 percent at $787 million.
Eurogate claimed it reacted quicker than its rivals to the economic downturn, slashing investments by almost 60 percent to $129 million and taking out $102 million of costs. Cargo volume at terminals in Germany, Italy, Portugal and Morocco shrunk by 12.3 percent to 12.45 million 20-foot equivalent units from 14.2 million TEUs in 2008.
"Despite this decline, Eurogate achieved a stable and respectable result compared to the market as a whole," said Eurogate chairman Thomas Eckelmann. "We succeeded in guaranteeing jobs and generating a positive operating result."
"Nevertheless, the crisis has set us back in our development by five years. We have had to postpone investments," Eckelmann said. "It will be some time before container handling volumes … again reach the record highs of 2008."
Eckelmann said Eurogate was proceeding with its major project, the western expansion of its Hamburg terminal which will come on stream in 2017/2019. The company is also standing by its commitment to the 3 million TEUs-a-year Jade Weser deep water container terminal in the north German port of Wilhelmshaven.
In response to falling container traffic through 2009, Eurogate introduced short time working in Bremerhaven, drastically cut overtime and froze hiring of contract workers in Hamburg and secured wage cuts of 5 percent from its executives and management.
Additional measures were introduced this year, including early retirement incentives for workers in Bremerhaven, part time contracts and more flexible work shifts.
Eurogate, a joint venture between Bremen's BLG and Eurokai of Hamburg, has a 33.4 percent stake in Contship Italia, Italy's biggest container terminal operator.