Investment pays off for Dublin Port

Sunday Business Post - Done Deal Page - 17 Aug 2008

Operating profits at Dublin Port Company rose by 7 per cent last year to total €28.5 million.

The company’s trading results for 2007, released last week, also showed a 6 per cent increase in turnover at €70.5 million. Goods passing through the port for the period totalled 30.9 million tonnes, up 6 per cent on the previous year.

Michael Sheary, company secretary and chief financial officer of Dublin Port Company, said the results marked the company’s 15th consecutive year of growth.

‘‘Over five years, we have invested a lot in new technologies, improving the way we do things and our systems and work practices,” Sheary said.

‘That has all borne fruit.” Dublin Port Company is a private l imited company wholly owned by the Irish state. Established in 1997, it employs 193 staff and handles over two thirds of container trade to and from Ireland, including 50 per cent of all Ireland’s imports and exports.

Additional financial figures released for the first six months of this year show a 3.8 per cent jump in turnover and a 0.3 per cent growth in passenger figures. However, total throughput at the port to the end of June was down 0.9 per cent.

‘‘The volumes coming through Dublin Port in the first half of 2008 are holding up very strongly amid all the doom and gloom,’’ Sheary said.

Cost-cutting initiatives have seen the port cut its wage bill significantly to total €13 million last year, a drop of 1.1 per cent over 2006 - and 33 per cent compared to 2001.

‘‘We have introduced an extensive change management programme over the last five years,” he said. ‘‘We looked at how we do things, the technology we use, and improving how we deliver our services to our customer. That has led to the reduction in payroll costs.”
Boosting last year’s profits was the €109 million sale of the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend.

‘‘About €30 million of the proceeds was paid over to our pension fund, €30 million paid off our borrowings, and the balance was used to finance our ongoing capital programme,” Sheary said.

The company invested €42 million in several projects, including a new service station, and upgrades to existing terminals, berths and road infrastructure as well as new pilot and tug boats. It has earmarked another €30 million to invest in further upgrade work this year.

Although container throughput accounts for 80 per cent of the company’s turnover, Sheary said passenger traffic was another important source of income.

‘‘We carried 1.4 million ferry passengers last year after a very successful ferry marketing campaign,” he said. ‘‘This year, we expect to have 80 cruise line visits, bringing 60,000 high spend customers into Dublin.”