Highlights first quarter 2008
- Vopak expects a minimum increase of 10% of the group operating profit, excluding exceptional items, in 2008 (2007: EUR 272.9 million).
- 785,000 cbm additional nett storage capacity commissioned worldwide
- A new project is started in Vlaardingen (Netherlands), the terminal will be expanded with 60,000 cbm in 2009, globally Vopak will add more then 2.7 million cbm storage capacity during 2008 to 2010
- The acquisition of a terminal at the Bahamas and the finalisation of the merger with EOS terminal are expected to be concluded in the second quarter
John Paul Broeders, Chairman of the Executive Board of Royal Vopak:
“The operating profit for the first quarter creates a sound basis for the remainder of this year. I expect our group operating profit, excluding exceptional items, to grow with at least 10%.This quarter, we commissioned new storage capacity totalling 785,000 cbm in many places, including a number of projects for oil products at the Sebarok (Singapore) and Rotterdam (Netherlands) terminals, as well as our joint venture in Fujairah (UAE). We recently added one new 60,000-cbm expansion, effective 2009, at the Vlaardingen terminal to our project list to satisfy the demand for additional capacity for biofuels, among other things. Despite the economic slowdown in a number of regions, Vopak still sees strong interest in the use of our infrastructure. Accordingly, we remain committed to our growth strategy."