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Royal Vopak has today revealed that year-on-year first quarter group operating profit - excluding exceptional items - rose by EUR 28.5 million, or 26 percent, compared to EUR 109.5 million during the corresponding period last year.

Vopak said that during the first quarter of 2012 worldwide storage capacity increased by 0.5 million cubic meters (cbm) to a total of 28.3 million cbm.

In its outlook summary, Vopak pointed out that projects under construction will add 5.6 million cbm of storage capacity in the years 2012 up to and including 2014. The total investment for Vopak and partners in expansion projects involves capital expenditure of some EUR 1.6 billion, of which Vopak’s total remaining cash spend will be some EUR 0.4 billion. The completion of these expansion projects will result in a worldwide storage capacity of 33.9 million cbm by the end of 2014.

Vopak expects to realize a group operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of between EUR 725-800 million in 2013, but added that the possibility of reaching the lower end of the 2013 outlook range in 2012 'cannot be excluded'.

Commenting on the results, Eelco Hoekstra, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Royal Vopak said: “In line with the developments in the second half year of 2011, Vopak experienced a continued strong demand for storage services, resulting from the structural interregional trade of oil products. The current demand for the storage of chemicals is healthy, considering amongst others the optimism in the chemical sector in North America and increasing consumption of petrochemicals in Asia. Despite the fact that the biofuel product flows remain unpredictable, we have seen improvements in the market for the storage and handling of biofuel products.

"Following the strong results in the second half year of 2011, we are pleased to report further improved first quarter results in 2012. We reached an EBITDA -excluding exceptional items- of EUR 186.2 million in the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 26% compared to the same period in 2011. Besides a currency translation gain, the improved results are fuelled by profitable strategic capacity expansions of the Vopak terminal network at key locations.

"In a dynamic and challenging global economy, Vopak closely monitors the business implications of the increasing rationalization of the refining sector in the Atlantic basin, the economic uncertainty in Europe, the storage capacity under construction by our competition and the turbulent developments in the financial markets.

"Overall, Vopak believes that it continues to be well positioned in this positive, but challenging, market environment. Given that the economic parameters seem to be subject to continuous change, we maintain the previously indicated 2013 outlook of EBITDA of between EUR 725-800 million, whereby the possibility that Vopak reaches the lower end of the 2013 outlook range in 2012 cannot be excluded."