- Sale of disposal and railcar cleaning business in the USA
- Operating profit excluding exceptional items of around EUR 270 million for 2007
Vopak has sold its disposal business located in South Carolina and its railcar cleaning facilities in Texas and Georgia on December 31, 2007. With this sale the strategic initiative to focus on tank storage activities in the USA has been concluded.
This sale has resulted in a limited book profit, which will be accounted for as an exceptional gain.
The year 2007 has been successful for Vopak. Again the company succeeded in expanding the global capacity as well as improving the operating profit. The company remains positive about the future; a large part of the capacity has been leased out based on multi-year contracts and the demand for storage services continues to remain high. To meet the increasing market demand for storage capacity, Vopak continues to expand in the coming years.
The operating profit for 2007, excluding exceptional items, is expected to be around EUR 270 million, excluding unforeseen circumstances (2006: EUR 220 million). The financial statements have not yet been verified by the auditor. Final results for the year 2007 will be published on 7 March 2008, by means of a press release.
Forward-looking statements
This document contains statements of a forward-looking nature, based on currently available plans and forecasts. Given the dynamics of the markets and the environments of the 30 countries in which Vopak renders logistics services, the company cannot guarantee the accuracy and completeness of such statements.
Unforeseen circumstances include, but are not limited to, exceptional income and expense items, unexpected economic, political and foreign exchange developments, and possible changes to IFRS reporting rules.
Statements of a forward-looking nature issued by the company must always be assessed in the context of the events, risks and uncertainties of the markets and environments in which Vopak operates. These factors could lead to actual results being materially different from those expected.
Profile Vopak
Royal Vopak (Vopak) is the world’s largest independent tank terminal operator specialising in the storage and handling of liquid and gaseous chemical and oil products. On request, Vopak can provide complementary logistics services for customers at its terminals. Vopak operates 74 terminals with a storage capacity of more than 21 million cbm in 30 countries. The terminals are strategically located for users and the major shipping routes. The majority of its customers are companies operating in the chemical and oil industries, for which Vopak stores a large variety of products destined for a wide range of industries.