Barcelona’s €172m turnover

(Posted on 02/03/20)

The Port of Barcelona achieved a turnover of € 172 million in 2019, very similar to the 2018 result, when it closed with € 174 million. This income stability was achieved despite the 10% reduction in cargo fees, which represent one of the Port's main sources of revenue, leading to a reduction in income of approximately € 4.5 million.
The revenue consolidation was also achieved in the organisation's capacity to generate resources (cash flow), which, at € 97 million in 2019, prepares the Port of Barcelona to comfortably meet future challenges and cover its investment needs.
Although globally 2019 was marked by a series of uncertainties and disruptions that led to a slowdown in international trade, it was a year of consolidation for the Port of Barcelona. Total traffic - covering all types of cargo - was € 67.7 million tonnes, very close to the 67.8 million achieved during the previous financial year.
It should be noted that more than 35 million tonnes correspond to traffic with the port's hinterland, i.e. real goods trade excluding transshipments and tare weights. Despite the stagnation in certain segments, in 2019 hinterland traffic maintained the record figure achieved in 2018.
Containers, dry bulk and cars, however, closed the year on a negative note. Dry bulk totalled 4.1 million tonnes and was affected by the decline in cement exports, which began in 2018. Vehicle trade closed on a negative note for the second consecutive year at 778,000 units (down 4%), due to several factors that affected both transit (-17%) and exports (-3%). Imports were up 0.1% year on year.
Liquid bulk achieved a record high for the Port of Barcelona, totalling 16.1 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%. This record figure was caused both by good figures for transits and imports, strengthening the role of the port infrastructure as a hub for energy products from the Mediterranean and southern Europe.
The Port of Barcelona is making a firm commitment to sustainability and will invest a great deal of its economic and human resources in this new decade developing projects related to the current climate emergency. Europe has set out on a path to become the first climate-neutral continent in 2050, a Green Deal of which the Port of Barcelona very much wants to be a part.
The Wharf Electrification Action Plan is one of the key projects under way to make the port emission-neutral, although it is not the only one. The push towards intermodality, a strategy launched several years ago, remains one of the institution's goals as it promotes more sustainable and less polluting modes of transport.
Rail transport also remained at 2018 levels, clocking up 13% for containers and 35.5% for vehicles. This makes it possible to reduce the emissions from port activity and improve the air quality of the surrounding area. Indeed, rail services at the Port of Barcelona saved 50,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2019.

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