(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Despite uncertain global economic circumstances and a cyclone catastrophe, Port of Salalah ended the year 2018 on a positive note with cargo volumes recording a robust 19 per cent year-on-year growth.
Port of Salalah suffered its first of kind natural calamity on May 25th last year when Cyclone Mekunu made its landfall on the Arabian Peninsula.
The port's general cargo terminal handled 16.2mn tons during 2018, a growth of 19 per cent over 2017 despite a year of challenges due to cyclone, Salalah Port Services Company (SPSC) said in its financial report submitted to the Muscat Securities Market on Monday.
It said the container terminal, however, handled 3.385mn twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) compared to 3.946mn TEUs in the previous year, a drop of 14 per cent in TEU terms.
SPSC reported a consolidated net profit of RO5.3mn for the year ended December 31, 2018 against RO5.21mn recorded during 2017. The company recorded consolidated revenues of RO56.33mn for 2018 as compared to RO57.03mn in the previous year.
'The other income includes on-account payment of RO14.8mn received from insurers towards cyclone related property damages and business interruption, subject to the final settlement. The management is of the opinion that the total claim amount will be higher than the on-account payments', SPSC said.
It added that the claim assessment and settlement process with insurers will continue into 2019 and the progress will be reported periodically.
SPSC said, 'The performance during 2019 is expected to witness a partial effect of the cyclone, as the safe operating capacity of the container terminal would be restored to the pre cyclone levels only after the ongoing inspection and required remediation works on the cyclone affected assets are complete, likely in second or third quarter of 2019.'
The company noted that the timely receipt of insurance claims is required to meet the cyclone related costs. 'As we proceed into 2019, we will need to do so cautiously and continue to monitor the situation. The Port of Salalah's container terminal remains very reliant on transshipment business primarily from existing customers. Maintaining and strengthening our strategic partnerships with our customers will remain top priority. In the general cargo terminal, the outlook remains optimistic due to the unique position of Salalah being the largest single global exporter of gypsum'.
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