Forth Ports said today it was on course to meet its expectations after a significant improvement in trading during the second half of the year.
The Edinburgh-based group, which owns and operates seven UK ports, said that Tilbury on the River Thames had done particularly well, while its Scottish sites showed an improved performance on the same period a year earlier.
The update from Forth came amid a spate of takeover activity which has forced the value of the company up 27% since the beginning of October to £717m.
Mersey Docks & Harbour agreed a £771m takeover from Peel Ports in June, P&O is to be sold for £3.3bn to Dubai Ports World while the board of PD Ports, operators of Teesport, have backed a £260m bid from Australian infrastructure group Babcock &
Brown.
At its two specialist marine terminals on the Firth of Forth, the group reported piped cargo tonnage rising modestly at Braefoot Bay though it was down year-on-year at Hound Point.
A £34m distribution centre for Finnish paper firm Stora Enso built at Tilbury also contributed to earnings, despite problems caused by a Finnish paper strike, the company said.
Trading at Tilbury Container Services, its associated company, had been slower than expected in the second half of the year although the outlook for 2006 was improved following the winning of new business.
The group continued to develop its property division in 2005 including market research and preliminary planning for the heart of its Edinburgh Forthside development.
The site, which runs two miles along the Firth of Forth coastline, is earmarked for housing, offices and leisure facilities.
There are also plans to develop a cultural and visitors centre at Leith docks.
Sales of housing and commercial sites at its Dundee base – including the City Quay Retail Site – should be completed by the end of the year, the group said.
Forth also announced that director Terry Smith will be retiring at the firm’s annual meeting in May, after 15 years with the company.
His deputy, Nathan Thompson, will become managing director of the property division from January 1.
Besides its ports, Forth also manages and operates around 280 square miles of navigable waters in and around the Forth and Tay estuaries.
The group has a 50% stake in Multi-Link Terminals, a container terminal operator in the Finnish locations of Helsinki and Kotka, as well as St Petersburg in Russia.
In September the group announced half-year profits of £10.8m.
References: EGi News 20/12/05
