Le Havre welcomes good 2018

(Posted on 18/04/19)

The Supervisory Board of the Port of Le Havre which met on 26 March 2019 has welcomed the good financial results for 2018, which demonstrate a significant improvement in the port's situation and the restoration of its internal financing capacity. The balance sheet allows the port to carry out the ambitious investment programme voted in 2018 and to consolidate its development as part of an integrated complex all along on the Seine corridor.

"As Chair of the Supervisory Board, I am pleased with the results achieved both in terms of traffic and financial matters; I should like to congratulate and thank all the teams for the work done, especially

Hervé Martel and Baptiste Maurand. The good figures mean we can "make it", that is to say, continue the operations undertaken in recent years and initiate new ones. Our port is in good health today and ready to meet the challenges to ensure our development,” said Emmanuèle Perron

This situation is due - and in the same proportions - to the growth in turnover, the control of its expenses and the support of the State. The increase in turnover, which stands at € 195 million for 2018, reflects the effectiveness and relevance of the pricing policy set up, particularly with regard to the new public property policy adopted by the port of Normandy. The cash flow from operations exceeds the target set by the strategic project and stands at € 55 million for 2018: a result that has tripled in the last five years. The cash flow-to-debt ratio, which indicates the number of years needed to repay the debt, is also improving: 3 years in 2018 against 13 years in 2013.

Hervé Martel, Managing Director of the Port of Le Havre since 23 March 2012, has been appointed head of the Seaport of Marseille (Grand Port Maritime de Marseille) from 15 April 2019. Baptiste Maurand, previously Deputy Managing Director of the Port of Le Havre, has been appointed Managing Director. The Executive Committee of the port now consists of Baptiste Maurand as Chair, Serge Ferreira, Director of Human Resources, and Sylvain Levieux, Director of Finance.

The favourable financial situation, which is in line with the growth in traffic (+2% in 2018), puts the port in a good position and reinforces its attractiveness to carry out its ambitious investment programme. For the record, this program of € 500 million, raised to € 600 million due to the development of the wind farm project, was unanimously decided last June by the members of the Supervisory Board further to the recommendation of the report submitted by the Guarantor after consultation with all the stakeholders, which concluded on the relevance and prioritization of the investments necessary for the development of the Port, including the completion of Port 2000:

the development of berths 11 and 12 of Port 2000 has therefore been launched: the Supervisory Board, after having read the motion of the Development Board, unanimously confirmed the procedure initially initiated and recalled that the results of this procedure are to be presented to the Supervisory Board for a decision in June 2019. The purpose of this decision is not to delay the timetable for what has been unanimously recognized as the most strategic investment for the further development of the port.

river access to Port 2000 (the ‘flapgate’), which was the subject of a public consultation last year, is going ahead: the Port of Le Havre welcomes the decision of the European Commission to allocate € 25m as part of the 2018 Transport Call for Proposals for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). That support, announced on March 26, is fully in line with Europe's approach to encouraging projects that promote multimodal development. It allows us to complete the financing of this infrastructure: 20% of the total cost of the project will therefore be borne by Europe and the remaining two-thirds will be provided by the Port of Le Havre (11% or € 13.75 million), the French government (3% or € 3.6 million) and the Regional Council (66% or € 82.65 million). The complementary studies (especially on the environmental issues) are in progress; applications for building and operating permits could be filed in 2020 with work beginning in 2021 and start of operation in 2023.