April 26, 2013 [Ship & Bunker] - Royal Vopak N.V. (Vopak) reported a pre-tax operating profit of €140.7 million ($183 million) in the first quarter of 2013, up 1 percent from the same period last year.
The company says it saw returns from expansion projects completed last year, but higher pension costs and lower demand for storage in the Netherlands hurt its bottom line.
“I am pleased to see an overall healthy demand for storage services in our global network,” said CEO Eelco Hoekstra.
“However, the first quarter of 2013 demonstrated the relatively weaker European economy.
“In the Netherlands, we continue to see lower demand for crude oil and gasoil storage.
“Outside Europe, I am positive about the market environment, considering amongst others the optimism in the chemical sector in North America fuelled by the shale gas developments.”
Hoekstra said storage demand in Asia and the Middle East is growing as economies strengthen and living standards improve in the region.
The company said its storage capacity increased by 400,000 cubic meters (cbm) to a total of 30.3 million cbm over the quarter, and projects now under construction are expected to add another 4.9 million cbm of capacity through 2015.
Among the projects Vopak is investigating are a new oil terminal in the U.S. West Coast Port of Long Beach and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Sweden.
