Record turnover for the third year in a row at Kolding Port

Once again, the Port of Kolding has succeeded in beating its own turnover record. Despite the good result, however, there are red numbers on the bottom line. This is because the decision to close the port already has consequences.

2018 was an eventful year for the Port of Kolding. Around 500 cargo ships and 1,255,000 tons of goods gave the Port of Kolding a turnover of DKK 32 million. The port was thus able to set a new turnover record for the third year in a row. In addition, the Port of Kolding celebrated its 175th anniversary, and shortly afterwards, employees and companies at the port received the news that the City Council had decided to close the commercial port by 2043 at the latest.

- It may seem like a long time horizon, but it already has consequences now, where the City Council's decision is reflected in the financial result for 2018, says Port Director Anders Vangsbjerg Sørensen.

Good cooperation and focus on circular economy is the reason for the progress
The primary reasons for the record-breaking turnover are the good cooperation with the port's 17 commercial companies, which include the three ship agents Grau Shipping, Svane Shipping and H. Daugaard. Daugaard.

- The Port of Kolding owns the port areas, the cranes and provides the necessary facilities, but it is often the three shipping agents who are responsible for the connection to the carriers and many other players. If the shipping agents do well, the Port of Kolding does well, and vice versa, explains Anders Vangsbjerg Sørensen.

In addition, the port board's focus on selected cargo types within the circular economy and the focused strategy to create a leading specialty port have also been crucial to the turnover record in 2018.

- At the Port of Kolding, we would have liked to continue the development for another 175 years, but given that the 17 companies that today have their employees, assets and activities on the port's areas will be out within almost 25 years, it is not certain that it makes sense to continue the development we had been working on, says Anders Vangsbjerg Sørensen.

Closure plans affect the accounts
The decision to close the commercial port came in November, after the port had presented an overall plan for how the port could develop in the coming years to become one of the country's leading specialized ports with a special focus on sustainability and circular economy.

The presentation of the future plans was preceded by a political mandate to draw up a plan for how the port's potential could continue to be fully exploited in the future and ensure growth with more jobs for the city and the port.

Therefore, in 2018, the Port of Kolding invested a lot of resources in the preparation of an overall master plan and made the initial studies for a planned expansion of the port areas with, among other things, drilling tests, engineering calculations, measurements, etc.

- These are costs that are normally booked as investments in port facilities with ongoing depreciation, but now that the plans based on Kolding City Council's decision will not be implemented, these costs must, according to the Accounting Act, be transferred to operations. This burdens the accounting result for the year in 2018, and that is the reason why we are coming out with a negative result this year, says Anders Vangsbjerg Sørensen, who estimates that the result would otherwise have been a nice million profit.

- Now we are coming out of 2018 with a loss of DKK 700,000. The first loss in modern times, says Anders Vangsbjerg Sørensen, who still looks back on 2018 with joy and pride over another turnover record and a healthy operation.

From development to decommissioning
Some elements of the master plan can be used despite the City Council's decision to close the port, but it may be difficult to maintain growth and jobs at Kolding Port in the future, recognizes Chairman of the Board Asger Christensen.

- With the City Council's decision, Kolding Port's task in the coming years will be to dismantle rather than develop the commercial port, according to the chairman of the board.

For further information:
Anders Vangsbjerg Sørensen
anders@koldinghavn.dk
+45 20 60 79 66