Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 21 April 2009
Highlights first quarter 2009:
Q1 2009 group operating profit (EBIT) up 15% to EUR 91.2 million
- Completion of projects under construction is on schedule. In Q1 2009 0.3 million cbm storage capacity was added to our worldwide network
- Gate terminal, the joint venture between Nederlandse Gasunie and Vopak, signed an agreement for a new financing facility of EUR 136 million, related to the expansion of the first Dutch Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import and regasification terminal Outlook (unchanged):
- For 2009, Vopak continues to expect a group operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of at least EUR 450 million, in line with the earlier indicated outlook
- Projects under construction will add 2.5 million cbm of storage capacity in the years 2009 to 2011. These expansions are based largely on rental contracts already entered into. The total investment for Vopak and partners in these projects will involve capital expenditure of some EUR 1.5 billion. For Vopak this means net capital expenditure related to these expansions of some EUR 0.2 billion for 2009 to 2011.
John Paul Broeders, Chairman of the Executive Board of Royal Vopak:
“We report an 8% higher operating profit excluding exceptional items in the first quarter of 2009. This result is fully in line with our outlook for 2009. Although, as expected, the chemicals activities in our European division continued to see some decrease in throughput, resulting in a lower operating profit, the commercial occupancy rate remained strong. All our other divisions across the world showed healthy operating profit increases supported by fairly stable occupancy rates in Q1 2009.
Our ongoing growth strategy resulted in newly commissioned storage capacity of nearly 0.3 million cbm in a number of locations, among which in Estonia, Sweden and the UK, in this quarter. Until 2011 a further 2.2 million cbm of capacity is expected to come on tream. One of the larger projects under construction is Gate terminal, the first Dutch LNG terminal. We are pleased that Gate terminal was able to sign an additional financing agreement this year, despite the currently complex global financing climate. Based on the first quarter 2009 results, our portfolio of activities, the growth program and the continued robust demand for our services, especially in the oil activities, we reconfirm our outlook of an EBITDA of at least EUR 450 million for 2009.”
Profile
Royal Vopak is the world's largest independent tank terminal operator specializing 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 80 terminals with a storage capacity of more than 27 million cbm in 32 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.