One-off €6.3m payout benefits Port of Cork

TRADE is picking up across most sectors in the Port of Cork this year, with costly one-off competitiveness measures undertaken in 2009 already paying dividends.

The Port authorities paid out €6.3m last year as part of a rationalisation programme agreed with dockers in the port, ending previous casual work arrangements and allowing for greater flexibility in the port’s service offering to its clients. This one-off cost gave the port a net loss of €4.9m after tax for 2009. Excluding this cost, it had an operating profit of €1.5m.

Turnover amounted to €20.8m, a decrease of 20.8%. Total traffic at the Port was 8.3m tonnes, down 17.8% on its 10.1m tonnes in 2008. Oil traffic, which accounts for 60.93% of cargo in the port, decreased by 16.8% to 4.84m tonnes.