In Q1 2023, Luka Koper recorded a sales revenue increase of 13%, an EBITDA growth of 0.5%, and a net income of EUR 16.5m, an increase of 0.4% YoY.

Starting off with the sale revenue, it amounted to EUR 80m, an increase of 13% YoY, and 10% compared to the plan for this quarter. This was achieved despite the lower amount of maritime throughput, which amounted to 5.7m tonnes, a decrease of 3%. Breaking this down further, container throughput amounted to 278 thousand TEUs, an increase of 4% YoY, while cars recorded a significant increase of 32%, with a total amount of 233k cars transported.

Looking at the maritime throughput by cargo groups can give us an even deeper insight into this development. General cargo throughput amounted to 217.4k tonnes, a decrease of 38% YoY. This came because of reduced transshipment of steel products as well as lower rubber transshipment, due to greater containerization. In terms of containers, they recorded 2.5m tonnes of throughput, a decrease of 2% YoY, mainly as a result of irregular arrivals of ships both on direct connections with the Far East and other Mediterranean ports, as well as lower occupancy of the container terminal. However, Luka Koper does note that March 2023 recorded an absolute monthly record in terms of container throughput, with 105.7k TEUs, surpassing the 100k TEU limit for the first time. In terms of cars, their throughput amounted to 398k tonnes, an increase of 30% YoY, and 232.8k units, an increase of 32% YoY. This came as a result of higher sales of vehicles both in the global and European markets. The Company also notes that in March the car terminal also set an absolute monthly record, with 87.5k of vehicles transported. Meanwhile, the throughput of liquid cargoes amounted to 1.1m tonnes, an increase of 19% YoY, due to higher throughput in all commodity groups. Finally, dry and bulk cargo throughput was 15% lower YoY and amounted to 1.48m tonnes, mainly due to the lower throughput of soy, aluminum oxide, phosphates, and iron ore.

Maritime throughput in tonnes per cargo group (Q1 2023 vs. Q1 2022)

Source: Luka Koper, InterCapital Research

Moving on to expenses, OPEX amounted to EUR 61.5m, an increase of 18.3% YoY. An increase across all cost categories was recorded. The cost of material increased by 22%, and amounted to EUR 6m, mainly due to higher cost of energy due to higher consumption and higher electricity prices, as well as higher consumption of motor fuel. The cost of services increased by 23.3%, and amounted to EUR 18.7m, due to the higher cost of port services, stemming from a higher volume of business operations, mainly relating to higher maritime transshipment of cars. Employee expenses meanwhile, increased by 19.3% YoY and amounted to EUR 25.9m, due to a higher number of employees, higher payments for job performance, and adjustment of salaries for inflation.

As a result of these developments, EBITDA amounted to EUR 27.6m, an increase of only 0.5% YoY, meaning that despite the revenue growth, there wasn’t an increase in profitability, mainly as a result of the aforementioned growth in OPEX. This would also imply an EBITDA margin of 34.4%, a decrease of 4.3 p.p. YoY.

The net financial result amounted to EUR 111.9k (Q1 2022: EUR -35k), as a result of higher financial income. Finally, the net income of the Company amounted to EUR 16.5m, an increase of 0.4% YoY, implying a net income margin of 20.6%, a decrease of 2.59 p.p. YoY.

Luka Koper key financials (Q1 2023 vs. Q1 2022, EURm)

Source: Luka Koper, InterCapital Research

In terms of investments, they amounted to EUR 8m in Q1, an increase of 29% YoY, but a decrease of 47% compared to what was planned for this quarter. Luka Koper notes that this decline came due to unfavorable weather conditions for the implementation of planned works, among other things. Nevertheless, the major investments that were made include the continued shift of stacking blocks at the Container terminal, the construction of new connection points for reefer containers, continued construction of a new external truck terminal, among several others.