Royal Vopak said fourth quarter 2021 EBITDA amounted to EUR 213 million (Q4 2020: EUR 186 million) including EUR 10 million reclass from withholding tax on undistributed reserves of associates and joint ventures to the income tax line.
Year-on-year comparison was impacted among others by the one-off negative accounting result of EUR 20 million recognised in Q4 2020 in its associate industrial terminal in Malaysia (PT2SB) and higher energy and utility costs in Q4 2021.
Growth momentum continued, with the delivery of new capacity of 124,000 cbm during Q4 2021 at Sydney and Deer Park.
Vopak also announced that it has reached an agreement with MOL (Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd) to jointly own and operate the FSRU for the new LNG terminal in Hong Kong.
The company said it is on track with the prior announced target of EUR 110 million to EUR 125 million EBITDA contribution in 2023 from growth projects: “We expect to manage the 2022 cost base including additional cost for new growth projects around EUR 645 million, subject to currency exchange and utilities price movements.”
In 2022, growth investments are expected to be below EUR 300 million. The allocation of these investments will be through existing committed projects, new business development and pre-FID (Final Investment Decision) feasibility studies in new energies including hydrogen, the planned Aegis Vopak transaction and the investment related to the new LNG terminal in Hong Kong in 2022.
For the period 2020-2022, Vopak expects to be at the higher end of the range EUR 750 million to EUR 850 million for sustaining and service improvement capex, subject to additional discretionary decisions, policy changes and regulatory environment.
Royal Vopak CEO Dick Richelle said: “2021, like 2020, was an atypical year due to the pandemic — with high volatility and lower demand for storage across the industry due to tight supplies. Vopak has again proven its resilience and ability to continue delivering while adapting to change and further improving our performance in safety and service to our best level yet. We delivered close to record high EBITDA and continued the delivery of the growth projects.
“We realized good progress on our portfolio and growth agenda by actively positioning ourselves towards the future. We reached new milestones in industrial terminals, mainly on the US Gulf Coast and China. We delivered new storage capacity and infrastructure in main industrial clusters in Belgium, Mexico, USA, the Netherlands, Australia.
“Gate terminal, our successful joint venture with Gasunie for LNG in Rotterdam, is making an important contribution to the security of natural gas supplies in the Netherlands and Northwest Europe supplying the equivalent of 25 percent of the Netherlands’ gas needs. Gate terminal will add 12.5 percent additional send out capacity to serve increased demand by the end of 2024.”
For more information visit www.vopak.com
Do you have any news articles you would like to submit? Please contact Tracey Sansom: tracey@tankstoragenewsamerica.com
