Port of Cork sees challenging conditions remaining despite relative optimism

Its financial performance was lower than that of 2019 but was ahead of expectations

While the 2020 financial performance at the Port of Cork was lower than that of 2019, it was ahead of the expectations set earlier in the year against the backdrop of the pandemic crisis.

Port of Cork has said the immediate trading landscape remains challenging, but that it is optimistic after posting better-than-expected figures for last year and the height of the Covid crisis.

Its optimism stems from a growing presence in the hybrid container ship/roll-on roll-off vessel space, a number of new routes established last year and the expected return of cruise ships to Cork sometime in 2022.

The Port of Cork Company said its turnover for 2020 amounted to €33.7m, down €4m, or 10.5%, on 2019 levels. Its post-tax profit amounted to €4.7m, down from a profit of €6m in 2019.

While the 2020 financial performance was lower than that of 2019, it was ahead of the expectations set earlier in the year against the backdrop of the pandemic crisis.

“In this year of Brexit, the port’s trade in 2020 reduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the areas most impacted being cruise traffic and the reduced passenger ferry sailings,” said Port of Cork chief commercial officer Conor Mowlds.

“However, container traffic, bulk trade, Whitegate Oil Refinery and Whiddy Oil Storage facility all continued to trade successfully in 2020, which was ahead of our expectations," he said. 

"From the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the port was designated an essential service and thanks to the work of our entire team we were able to keep imports and exports moving, without any delays in our operations,” Mr Mowlds said.

He said the impact of the Covid crisis ensured that 2020 was a challenging year for the port, “both financially and from an operational perspective”.

“The impact on the tourist industry worldwide was particularly stark, and in our case, it resulted in the loss of 98 cruise liner calls, a primary factor in our reduced turnover. In addition, Brittany Ferries Ro-Pax [roll-on-roll-off with cargo] services were severely impacted due to Covid-19 passenger travel restrictions," he said.

Last week, the Dublin Port Company said recovery in the second quarter of the year saw it close the first half of the year with trade volumes only down 2.1% on the same period in 2020, though down 13% on 2019 levels.

Dublin Port Company said it was seeing the negative impact of Brexit, evident in the first quarter of the year, reduce with each month.