Port of Cork performance ‘reasonable’ after return to profit amid traffic hike

THE Port of Cork Company has labelled its 2010 performance “reasonable”, after returning to profit and recording a solid increase in both turnover and traffic.

According to the company’s latest annual report, the port posted a pre-tax profit of just over €2.23m last year; a strong turnaround from a pre-tax loss of €5.51m in 2009. Furthermore, after-tax profits came in at €2.11m — up from a 2009 post-tax loss of €4.93m. Operating profit went from €1.5m to just over €2m; while turnover was up from €20.8m to €22m.

“Despite a reasonable increase of 5.6% in turnover, the Port of Cork has had to take a closer look at the company’s current business practices, to ensure more efficient work practices and better control of costs. An increase in exports by 9.7% compared to 2009 shows some areas are returning to growth and this is positive for the region,” chairman Dermot O’Mahoney said.