The port of Barcelona boosted its profit by 66% last year, up to 63 million euros, due to the recovery of traffic after overcoming the pandemic, which allowed it to increase its income by 20%, up to 181 million euros, the maximum port history.
The port authority, which is now chaired by Lluís Salvadó, explained that revenues have already recovered, by 5%, the pre-pandemic level, when they reached 172 million euros. Salvadó explained that the recovery has been based on the record volume reached in passenger ferry traffic and bulk liquids, and is especially meritorious in a year "full of challenges, with the invasion of Ukraine, the impact of the covid in China and all the disruptions in the logistics chains”.
Salvadó highlighted that the bank debt has been reduced by 18 million euros, reaching 124 million euros, with a sharp drop from the 500 million euros that it reached in 2010 due to the investment made for its expansion. The Port placed its treasury balance at 231 million (4% higher), with an operating cash flow of 101 million euros, "which lays the foundations for the financial strength we need to undertake the investments we have planned" , which was estimated at 300 million euros until 2025.
The general director of the Port, José Alberto Carbonell, highlighted that traffic has reached record levels, with 71 million tons, from the port. All segments of port activity increased, except for containers, which remained stable.
Bulk solids traffic grew by 2%, to 4.5 million tons; bulk liquids shot up 26.9%, due to the impact of the Liquefied Natural Gas facilities in the Port, one of the largest in Europe; automobile traffic increased by 18.4%, to 591,015 units.
Passenger traffic has also recovered, but Salvadó acknowledged that it is still far from pre-pandemic levels. Ferry passengers reached 1.6 million people, (62% more) mainly due to traffic with the Balearic Islands, while 2.3 million cruise passengers arrived, a third less than the 3.1 million in 2019.
