The Container and Terminal Division

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 is offering feeder services to the Deep Sea Lines and a full intermodal service where Eucon deploys 4,600 owned and leased containers (equivalent to 8,900 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 remaining lease terms of between 73 and 99 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 Liebherr gantry cranes (40 tonne capacity) and eleven rubber-tyred gantries (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. DFT now operates six electrically operated rubber-tyred gantries incorporating latest technologies to allow for remote operation. Three more of these cranes have been delivered and will be commissioned in 2023. The delivery of these cranes and the relocation of our empty depot facility in January 2022 to our new Dublin Ferryport Inland Depot located at the new Dublin Inland Port will increase the capacity of DFT to meet the needs of the market.

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. This services concession agreement currently extends to 2026. BHC are currently completing a £40 million re-investment project which includes extensive civil works and the delivery of two new Liebherr gantry cranes and eight new electrically operated RTGs incorporating the latest technologies to allow for remote operation similar to the RTGs operated at DFT. Civil works have continued on the building of two new RTG stacks and a further three RTGs are scheduled to be commissioned in the second half of 2023.

2022 Overall Container and Terminal Performance

Revenue in the division increased to €221.5 million (2021: €174.0 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 74% (2021: 72%) 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 8.2% to €31.5 million (2021: €29.1 million) while EBIT grew 18.0% to €20.3 million (2021: €17.2 million).

In Eucon, overall container volumes shipped were down 6.9% compared with the previous year at 322,600 teu (2021: 346,600 teu). Despite the reduction in volumes in Eucon and strong increases in the cost base, revenue and profitability increased due to recovery from our customers by increasing rates and the continued application of the flexible bunker and fuel surcharges.

Containers handled at the Group’s terminals in Dublin Ferryport Terminals (DFT) and Belfast Container Terminal (BCT) were down 4.7% at 319,600 lifts (2021: 335,500 lifts). DFT’s volumes were down 4.5%, while BCT’s volumes were down 5.1%. While the reduction in volumes is disappointing, we are encouraged by the continued revenue growth in the terminals offsetting the additional costs.

Outlook

In Eucon, we have seen a reduction in containers shipped of 4.4% in the first 2 months of 2023 compared with the prior year. This is indicative of the slowdown in the global economy that is not unexpected. In our container business, we will continue with our approach of matching capacity to the demand requirements of our customers. Port lifts in our container terminals decreased by 5.6% in the first 2 months of 2023 compared with the prior year and again is indicative of the market situation.

We will commission a further three electric rubber-tyred gantries capable of remote operation during 2023 along with the delivery of a new ship-to-shore crane. These investments will continue to deliver operational efficiency, increased capacity and with these progressive investments in the modernisation of our terminals we are well placed when growth returns to the market.