Eurogate sees record volume, profit in 2008

Eurogate sees record volume, profit in 2008    The Eurogate Group, which operates 10 container terminals in Europe, said Wednesday that profit in 2008 increased 3.5 percent to 116.5 million euros ($154 million).
   Revenue increased 8.4 percent to 715 million euros ($946 million). Eurogate handled 14.2 million TEUs in 2008, a record for the company (though it did not release details on 2007 volumes).
   The company's key terminals are in Germany, where it operates facilities in Bremen, Bremerhaven and Hamburg.
   2009's outlook 'is determined by the current financial and economic crisis. In light of declining container volumes in the first quarter of 2009, Eurogate has adapted its human resources and investment planning to reflect the recent volume trend,' the company said in a statement. 'The top priority is to secure jobs. Enforced redundancies are not planned.'
   The company said that of 470 million euros in planned investments in 2008, only 238.4 million euros were invested, partly a reflection of how the economic crisis in the second half of the year took hold.
   Meanwhile, the company said there were promising signs despite dour volumes in the first quarter of 2009. Services have been secured for Eurogate's terminals in Cagliari, where the Grand Alliance now calls, and at Tangier, where MOL calls.
   'No one is currently in a position to offer a reliable forecast for fiscal 2009,' said Eurogate Chairman Emanuel Schiffer. 'In the first quarter of the year we recorded significant reductions in container handling volumes at our locations. This development affects revenue and earnings forecasts.'