Port of Aarhus's 2012 revenue fell from DKK 209 million in 2011 to DKK 200 million, while the net profit fell from DKK 37.1 million to DKK 21.8 million, said in the press release.
The declining revenue is according to the management primarily a result of a decline in freight turnover of 10 percent, which makes out 8.5 million tons. Consequently the revenue for containerized cargo decreased by 6 percent to 404,000 TEUs.
"The turnover of goods is influenced by consumer reluctance, both at home and abroad. Our customers in the area are Danish companies using sea transport for import and export, and the declining consumption has direct impact on our revenue", said Port Director Bjarne Mathiesen.
But the Port Director has far from lost his optimism. "We have done a lot of work to rationalise the entire operation. We have outsourced a part of our crane service, and for the remainder of the crane service, we have negotiated a new local agreement. This means that we are overall competitively stronger than before", says Bjarne Mathiesen.
Bjarne Mathisen welcomes Maersk Line's new generation of container ships - Triple E - that from august will be calling regularly at the Port of Aarhus.