By Romolo Tosiani
(Reuters) -Dutch tank storage company Vopak raised its 2025 core profit forecast on Wednesday, citing strong first-half results and the resilience of its terminal network.
The firm now expects core profit (proportional EBITDA) for the year to be between 1.17 billion euros ($1.35 billion) and 1.20 billion euros, slightly up from its earlier guidance range of 1.15 billion-1.20 billion euros.
Vopak, which provides storage and handling services to the energy and manufacturing end markets, posted first-half EBITDA of 615.3 million euros, marking a 3% year-on-year rise and beating ING’s estimate of 599 million euros.
The Rotterdam-based firm’s net profit surged 58% to 318.6 million euros in the first half, while its earning per share came rose to 2.74 euros from 1.73 euros a year ago.
“So overall, good occupancy levels in the business, around 92% of our capacity, are occupied by customers. And based on this, we are able to also grow our portfolio,” Chief Financial Officer Michiel said.
Asked about the EU-U.S. trade deal, Gilsing told Reuters that an increase in LNG imports to Europe could overall be positive for the company, even if the details of the supply “need to be still digested.”
Last month, Vopak listed its Indian joint venture, Aegis Vopak (AVTL), on the Indian bourses, generating an exceptional gain of 111 million euros.
“It gives us an opportunity to grow in India faster than otherwise, because basically the market will partly fund the growth, while otherwise we had to do it from the holding effectively,” Gilsing said about the India listing.
($1 = 0.8657 euros)
(Reporting by Romolo Tosiani in Gdansk; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
