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Storage terminal operator Royal Vopak has today confirmed that net profit attributable to owners of ordinary shares - including exceptional items - increased by 11 percent to EUR 325 million in 2015, up from EUR 294 million the previous year.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 6 percent to EUR 556 million, up from EUR 524 million in 2014.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) also increased by 6 percent to EUR 812 million, having been EUR 763 million during the previous calendar year.

Earnings per ordinary share (EPS) were up by 10 percent from EUR 2.31 in 2014 to EUR 2.55 in 2015.

Vopak's worldwide storage capacity increased by 0.5 million cubic metres (cbm) to 34.3 million cbm during 2015.

Commenting on the results, Eelco Hoekstra, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Royal Vopak, said: "We achieved our financial targets for 2015. We are confident about the future earnings potential of the company and propose to increase the dividend per ordinary share with 11%.

"We are pleased with the good progress made with the optimization of our terminal portfolio in 2015.

"Through the divestment program, together with the commissioning of new terminals and capacity expansions at existing terminals, we have further strengthened our global network and improved our competitive service offering.

"We observed a gradual pickup in advanced economies and a slowdown in emerging markets and developing countries. In North America, the underlying drivers for acceleration in consumption and investment remained intact. Further, the economic recovery in Europe has developed positively, with a robust improvement in domestic demand. However, this year was dominated by China's uncertain growth perspective, increased economic sensitivity to lower commodity prices and the heightened geopolitical tensions in certain regions.

"Despite these challenging market developments, we were able to deliver robust financial results supported by the positive FX effect. Global imbalances, long-term contracts and effective supply chain positioning continue to be the main drivers behind the strong demand for our infrastructure services. The lower oil price environment contributed to the higher occupancy rate in the Netherlands and EMEA and increased market interest for our newly commissioned oil terminals in Asia. Overall demand for chemicals remains healthy, supported by increase in GDP, population growth and rising wealth levels.

"In 2016, we will continue with the execution of our strategic priorities, which will strengthen Vopak's competitive position and will support the company to adapt to changing circumstances in order to seize opportunities and to continue our focus on sustainable long-term value creation."

In its outlook for the future, the storage specialist said: "Looking ahead, we expect 2016 occupancy rates of our global terminal network to exceed 90%, supported by our diversified portfolio both geographically and in different product groups (oil, chemicals and gas), healthy contract coverage and strong supply chain positions.

"This provides a solid basis for 2016 whilst taking into account the reduced contribution of divested terminals."