Adolfo Utor, President of Baleària, presented on Wednesday the balance of results of the company of the year 2018. A year that left a net profit of 27.491.558 euros, a 37% less than in 2017.
As the president explained, "We are in an expansive moment, also consolidating the new routes in the Alboran and Canary Islands" with new lines that "strengthen the strategic position of Baleària in the market, with a more comprehensive and solvent offer ". The high cost of the start-up of the new traffic that must be consolidated, together with the increase in the price of fuel in 2018, has detailed Utor, have caused that profitability has been reduced in result.
A trend that Utor predicts for the next fiscal year, while the new traffics are consolidated and the planned ship remoterizations are completed, which implies having them idle.
Increase in passengers and merchandise
In 2018, Baleària transported 4.320.000 passengers (+ 11%) and 1.209.000 vehicles (17%) in its 23 routes, of which 1.109.000 corresponded to its five international routes. In these lines, passenger growth was 26%, while turnover exceeded 84 million euros (an 16% more). In the lines that connect the Peninsula with North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Ceuta and Melilla) concentrates more than half of the group's passengers, 2.277.000; thus North Africa is the area where the Dianense shipping company is growing the most.
Regarding the load, which is half of Baleària's business, Utor has indicated that the growth was 3,5% (that is, 5.800.000 linear meters of goods transported).
Objective: sustainable growth
Utor has stressed that the company seeks growth that does not lose sight of the sustainability criteria that make it compatible with the preservation of the planet, social inclusion and equal opportunities.
In this sense, he has given as an example the use of liquefied natural gas, which in 2018 supposed "the concretion of the contribution of Baleària in the fight against climate change". "Natural gas is a cleaner energy that in Baleària goes hand in hand with digitalization. They are two strategic axes that converge perfectly in our smart ships"commented Utor.
At the end of 2020, Baleària will have nine smart vessels powered by gas, of which three are new constructions and six correspond to remotorizations of fleet ships (subsidized in part by the EU). Thus, the Hypatia de Alejandría, finished in 2018, and the Naples, whose engine change began that same year, have materialized the use of natural gas in Baleària. "We are pioneers in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the use of this less polluting energy, but also internationally, thanks to the construction of the world's first fast ferry that will navigate with LNG engines", remarked Utor.
Social Commitment
The social cash flow, or value distributed to the interest groups, amounted to 506.849.000 €, which meant a growth of 31%. On the one hand, Baleària contributed to the growth of employment at 2018, since its team increased by 9,4%, exceeding the 1.600 people, and personnel expenses increased by 17,7%. A template where almost one in four employees is foreign, and where 55 nationalities coexist.
