Despite an 8% drop in service revenues, Croatian port operator Luka Rijeka has posted a robust first-quarter profit of €2.02 million—marking a 28% rise year-on-year.
The slip in revenue to €6.3 million is largely attributed to a reduction in bulk and general cargo volumes, especially metal goods, hardwood, grains, and coal.
Yet, cost-cutting measures, including a 15% reduction in material expenses, helped soften the blow, with operating expenses trimmed to €7 million.
The bright spot: container traffic, now representing 75% of all cargo, surged 25%, driving an overall cargo volume increase of 13% to 1.51 million tonnes.
This upswing, powered by affiliate Jadranska vrata d.d., is fuelling optimism.
Meanwhile, a €5.7 million expansion of the Škrljevo Container Depot is underway, set to boost capacity with nine new container plateaus over 66,615m².
The development also paves the way for a new service—handling full containers. For Luka Rijeka, the tide appears to be turning.