Last year, the port of Barcelona increased its income by 4.4%, to 189 million euros, a small growth impacted by the reduction in port activity caused by the disruption of maritime traffic, especially in the Suez Canal and on the Red Sea: total traffic decreased by 9.8% last year. This led the Barcelona port to reduce its operating profit by 18.5%, to 44 million euros, and its profit before taxes by 6%, to 59 million euros. The net profit, for its part, fell even more, by 20%, to 50 million euros, because in 2023 the port’s corporate tax bill skyrocketed.
The president of the Port Authority, Lluís Salvadó, acknowledged that “after an expansive 2022, 2023 has been complex, and the situation in the Red Sea continues to unfortunately affect us this year.” In his opinion, “the port is a reflection of the situation of the economy worldwide and the changes that are taking place in the global productive system.” Despite everything, he explained, the Port is the first in the state in terms of the value of the goods it moves (more than 272 million euros) and the head of a business group made up of 17 companies that generates an annual turnover of 323 million euros and It employs 39,137 people.
The general director of the Port, José Alberto Carbonell, highlighted the impact of the geopolitical conflicts that affect the Red Sea and the Suez Canal on the port’s activity, as well as the decrease in demand in Europe and the cooling of exports. Hinterland traffic (that is, with origin or final destination in the area) reached 33.7 million tons, with a decrease of 4.3%. The arrival of passengers, for its part, shot up by 35%, especially due to the increase in cruise passengers: there were 3.5 million movements (not people), 52.9% more than in 2022. “The The number of arrivals has remained stable but the ships arrive fuller,” said Salvadó. 53% of these cruise passengers had the city as their base, which generates more value for the Catalan economy, in a strategy that the port wants to promote.
The financial director, Miriam Alaminos, explained that income has increased due to the end of the bonuses that the Port granted to its operators during the covid, which have been 27 million euros. Without this factor, revenues would have been the same as last year. Last year, the institution was able to compensate for the drop in income from freight traffic with the increase in passengers, who in 2022 had not yet recovered pre-covid levels.
Income from usage fees was 88 million euros, and grew by 6%, while income from concessions reached 90 million, because the surface area that has been made available to other companies, such as Cilsa, has increased.
Operating profit was reduced by 18.5%, due to the cost of concentrating cruise activity in the Moll Adosat, as agreed with the City Council and because the Port’s contribution to the Central Port System has increased, up to 12 million euros, which makes the port of Barcelona once again the one that contributes the most. The financial result, for its part, was positive for the port and reached 14 million euros, due to its high treasury (325 million euros) and the collection of dividends from its investees, especially from Cilsa and Mesa, which reached 11 millions of euros.
The port invested 43 million euros last year, but, Salvadó recalled, “we are entering an investment cycle: 2023 has been used to tender projects and in 2024 there will be more tenders and we will begin to see how these projects are executed.”
The Port, Salvadó explained, last year had infrastructure projects underway for 150 million euros, the majority from the port itself, and another 16 million from its investees: 6 million from Cilsa in the installation of a photovoltaic roof on the warehouse. Decathlon and 10 million euros that the World Trade Center is investing in its remodeling.
For this year, the Port has infrastructure projects underway worth 332 million euros, in which the construction of the Moll Catalunya and the dredging material recycling system stand out, two works that will exceed the budget of 100 million euros. each.
Salvadó highlighted that 2023 has been a year very marked by the preparation of the 37th Copa América. “We are facilitating the creation of the operational bases of the six teams, and we have launched public-private investment projects of 120 million euros in the transformation of Port Vell,” he assured.
