The Container and Terminal Division provides direct container shipping services between Ireland and Continental Europe together with the operation of container terminals at both Dublin and Belfast.
The division’s intermodal shipping line Eucon is the market leader in the sector, operating a core fleet of six chartered container vessels ranging in size from 750 – 1,000 teu capacity, connecting the Irish ports of Dublin, Cork and Belfast with the continental ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. Eucon offers feeder services to the Deep Sea Lines and a full intermodal service between Ireland and Continental Europe. Eucon deploys 4,200 owned and leased containers (equivalent to 8,100 teu) of varying types thereby offering a full range of services from palletised, project and temperature controlled cargo to Irish and European importers and exporters from all points on the island of Ireland to destinations across 20 European countries. Door-to-door services are contracted to third parties utilising a variety of transport modes including road, rail and barge.
Dublin Ferryport Terminals (DFT) operates its Dublin Port container facility from a leasehold facility with a remaining lease term of 101 years, covering over 34 acres. The facilities comprise 480 metres of berths for container ships, with a depth of nine to eleven metres and is equipped with three modern gantry cranes (40 tonne capacity) and ten rubber-tyred gantries (RTGs) (40 tonne capacity) on a strategically located site within three kilometres of Dublin city centre and within one kilometre of the Dublin Port Tunnel, providing direct access to Ireland’s motorway network. Of the ten RTGs operated by DFT, four are electrically operated, incorporating latest technologies to allow for remote operation of which two were delivered and commissioned during the year.
Belfast Container Terminal (BCT) operates the sole container terminal at Belfast under a services concession agreement with Belfast Harbour Commissioners (BHC) at a 27-acre site in Belfast Harbour. In 2019, the Group agreed an extension to this services concession agreement to 2026. The £40m re-investment project by BHC is well underway which includes extensive civil works and the delivery of two new gantry cranes and eight new electrically operated RTGs incorporating the latest technologies to allow for remote operation similar to the RTGs operated at DFT. During 2020, two gantry cranes were delivered and commissioned to bring the total number on site to three. In December 2019, six RTGs were delivered with a further two delivered in June 2020. Of the eight RTGs, five are commissioned and in use with the remaining three to be commissioned during 2021. These RTGs are supplemented by two rail mounted gantry cranes that will be phased out of operation during 2021.
The Group was successful in a public tender process to be the first operator in the new Dublin Inland Port. The Group has signed a 20-year lease for this operation. The facility is expected to come online by the end of 2021.
2020 Overall Container and Terminal Performance
2020 2019
Revenue
€146.5m
€154.4m | -5.1%
EBITDA
€19.8m
€19.6m | +1.0%
EBIT
€13.1m
€13.6m | -3.7%
ROACE
21.0%
28.6% | -7.6pts
Revenue in the division decreased to €146.5 million (2019: €154.4 million). The revenue is derived from container handling and related ancillary revenues at our terminals and in Eucon from a mix of domestic door-to-door, quay-to-quay and feeder services with 70% (2019: 70%) of shipping revenue generated from imports into Ireland. With a flexible chartered fleet and slot charter arrangements Eucon was able to adjust capacity and thereby continue to meet the requirements of customers in a cost effective and efficient manner.
EBITDA in the division increased by 1.0% to €19.8 million (2019: €19.6 million) while EBIT fell 3.7% to €13.1 million (2019: €13.6 million).
In Eucon overall container volumes shipped were down 7.9% compared with the previous year at 316,300 teu (2019: 343,400 teu). Covid-19 impacted our feeder volumes as imports from the Far East, which hub through the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, were lower in the first half of 2020. Volumes improved in the second half of the year as production and demand adjusted to the Covid-19 environment. The resulting revenue decrease was offset by disciplined capacity management where we reduced our core operating fleet from six vessels to five vessels.
Containers handled at the Group’s terminals in DFT and BCT were down 8.9% at 292,400 lifts (2019: 320,800 lifts). DFT’s volumes were down 7.1%, while BCT’s lifts were down 11.4%.
Outlook
We have reintroduced a sixth vessel to the fleet from January 2021 and look forward to returning to a growth trend in EBIT which is testament to our investment in the business in driving efficiencies and nurturing close customer relationships. We are pleased with the commissioning of our new remotely operated RTGs and continue to enjoy the efficiency and environmental benefits they provide. These will further drive efficiencies and increase operating capacity in our Dublin terminal. The opening of the Dublin Inland Port expected in 2021, will provide further new opportunities in both the inland port itself and the core Dublin Terminal due to the additional operating capacity it will provide. With the concession agreement at our Belfast terminal facility now extended to 2026, we look forward to continue working on the completion of the £40m re-investment project with BHC and assisting in the delivery of additional terminal capacity to the market.
