Eurogate plans $1.7 billion investment

Eurogate plans $1.7 billion investment European terminal operator Eurogate Group said it plans to invest more than $1.7 billion (1.1 billion euro) in coming years to accommodate growing cargo volumes and larger ships with 10,000 TEUs.
   The company plans to receive 50 super-post-Panamax container cranes through 2012.
   The company made the comment as it reported results for 2007, with net profit at $178 million (112.5 million euro), a 61 percent increase over 2006. 2007 revenues were about $1.04 billion (659.5 million euro), up 17.8 percent over the prior year.
   The company said the revenues increase was attributable to increased container handling volumes. In 2007 the Eurogate handled 13.9 million TEUs Europe-wide, 10.6 percent more than in 2006.
   Jointly with Contship Italia, Eurogate operates nine container terminals in Germany, Italy and Portugal. The largest are in Bremerhaven, Germany, and Gioia Tauro, Italy. The company said Hamburg is the terminal with the strongest growth.