Global Ports Holding (GPH) has reported a net loss of $14.1 million on revenues of $116.4 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2017, compared to net income of $4.4 million on revenues of $114.9 million for the previous year.
The revenue includes GPH’s cruise and cargo operations.
Cruise revenues for 2017 were $50.3 million, compared to $53.7 million the previous year, and includes Barcelona and Malaga, Valletta, Ege Ports (Turkey), and the Italian ports of LA Spezia, Ravenna, Cagliari and Catania, but not Venice, Lisbon and Singapore, which are accounted for as equity investment entities, according to GPH.
The company attributed the net loss to a decline in operating profit in addition to a non-cash foreign currency impact from the EUR/USD exchange rate.
An increase in cruise traffic from 3.5 million in 2016 to 4.1 million in 2017 was attributed to growth mainly in the Italian ports. GPH also said that non-Turkish cruise ports grew strongly, while Ege Ports saw a 53.4 percent drop in passengers from 2016 to 2017.
The weakness in the higher-yielding Turkish ports is expected to continue into 2018, although passengers and revenue are expected to stabilize compared to the decline in 2017, GPH stated, which also said that a good sign of possibly recovery is number of cruise lines that have begun to communicate their plans to visit Turkish ports in 2018.
Based on the cruise industry’s expansion and current orderbook, GPH said it is projecting around 5 percent annual growth over the next 10 years and is in negotiations with a number of potential new ports both in and outside Europe.
Mehmet Kutman, chairman and co-founder commented in a prepared statement: “In May 2017 we listed on the London Stock Exchange. Despite the geopolitical challenges in Turkey since then, we have been able to deliver stable revenues and underlying profits, achieve strong operating cash flow and attractive dividends. Operating profit was down year-on-year mainly reflecting the costs of the IPO. Delivering shareholder value remains a key priority for the group as we look to the year ahead.”
Emre Sayın, Chief Executive Officer said: “Our 2017 financial performance reflects the importance of our diversified business, with robust contributions from our commercial operations and strong performance in our cruise ports outside Turkey, where the geopolitical situation continues to be challenging. We are making progress with our strategy set out at the IPO to expand our global footprint of cruise ports, also reducing the significance of Turkey on our overall business. M&A discussions both in and outside Europe are progressing well and we have strengthened our global team as we pursue the next phase of growth. We feel good about 2018 as it starts growing again.”
Global Ports Holding was established in 2004 as an international port operator with a diversified portfolio of cruise and commercial ports. As an independent cruise port operator, the group claims to be the world’s leading cruise port brand, with an integrated platform of cruise ports serving cruise liners, ferries, yachts and mega-yachts. GPH’s portfolio consists of investments in 15 ports in seven countries, providing services for 7.0 million passengers reaching a market share of 23 percent in the Mediterranean annually. The group also offers commercial port operations which specialize in container, bulk and general cargo handling.
