The financial and operating results of Ashdod Port Company for the fourth quarter of 2021 and for the whole year were positive, marking a record number in the volume of container traffic.
The port of Ashdod in Israel, which claims it did not stop operating at all during the coronavirus pandemic, set a box volume record of 1.6 million TEUs, which is an all-time record number for all the ports in the country.
The total volume of goods handled by the port of Ashdod in 2021 was estimated at US$37.87 billion.
The vehicle sector recorded an increase of 8.5% compared to the 2020 figure, translating to 132,564 vehicles. At the same time, in the field of bulk cargo, there was a decrease of 5% in 2021, while an increase of 23% was recorded in the general cargo.
“Over the past year we faced challenges arising from the global crisis that led to a dramatic increase in demand and congestion at seaports in Israel and globally,” said chairwoman of the board of directors, Orna Hozman Bechor.
Financial results of the fourth quarter
The net operating profit for the quarter, offsetting the cost of early retirement, was US$20.18 million, up 74% from the previous quarter, while the company’s fourth-quarter revenue was US$92.69 million, a 10% increase over the third quarter.
Additionally, Ashdod Port Company’s fourth-quarter net profit, discounting the cost of an early retirement plan, rose 32% from the third quarter to US$18.42 million.
Annual results
Regarding the financial results for the whole year, the company’s operating profit for 2021 amounted to US$57.02 million, which represents an increase of 142%, while revenue was US$350 billion, up 13.5% from 2020.
This increase in revenue is due to the increase in cargo volume and in particular the increase in the volume of full containers, vehicle imports and general cargo, according to the port’s data.
Furthermore, Ashdod Port Company saw a significant increase in costs due to an early retirement plan that resulted in a loss of US$3.95 million.
Shiko Janna, CEO of the Port of Ashdod, said that “we were able to adjust and adapt to the frequent changes and thus not only survived the period but also flourished. During the year we recruited dozens of new employees to boost our ability to handle heavy loads and continued to develop our infrastructures.”
Continuing he stressed that “we have signed a historic efficiency agreement and strengthened our innovation and technological development arms. All of these actions will help us maintain the relative advantages of the Port of Ashdod over the new ports and will continue to strengthen our status as Israel’s port.”
