Invitation to the General Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting 2017 and related information

Invitation [pdf]

Related information [zip]

ThPA SA CEO, Dr Dimitrios Makris presented Company’s Financial Results of fiscal year 2016 to financial analysts on Thursday 8th of June 2017.

Despite the particular difficulties faced in 2016, the company presented resilience, with turnover of 48.061.529 Euros compared to 50.881.605 Euros in 2015. Although, turnover recorded a decrease of 5.54%, rebounded significantly from the adverse effects of the negative developments in the first half of 2016. During this period, there were 32 consecutive days of strike and an additional 4 weeks’ abstention from working on weekends and overtime by port employees due to the privatization of the company. Furthermore, the railway connection to Skopje closed for 67 days causing serious problems for bulk and general cargo transportation. In addition, for approximately 20 days the road connection to Bulgaria was blocked making container transport impossible.

However, ThPA SA managed to maintain its market position in 2016, achieving high profitability ratio and presenting earnings, as a percentage of the turnover, among the highest of the ATHEX listed companies, with gross profit of 46,13%, EBITDA at 49,68%, earnings before taxes 43,86% and earnings after taxes to 29,31%.

Revenue by operating segment is distributed as follows: Container Terminal operations amounted to 30.602.483 Euros, corresponding to 63,67% of the total turnover, Conventional Port activities amounted to 15.629.672 Euros corresponding to 32,52% of the total turnover, 264.461 Euros for the Passengers Terminal representing 0,55% of the total turnover and 1.564.914 Euros for sites exploitation representing 3,26% of the total revenue.

ThPA SA, is a healthy company with zero lending. In 2016 there was a significant increase of the invested reserves by 29,69%, from 55.199.321 Euros to 71.586.788 Euros, with cash reserves amounting to 75.566.103 Euros.

The Company's dividend policy aims to satisfy the shareholders along with the creation of reserves for the financing of its investments. The proposed dividend of earnings for 2016 is 0,49 per share.

It was of particular importance the approval of the Master Plan of the Port of Thessaloniki by the company’s Board of Directors and its submission to Ports Planning and Development Committee (E.S.A.L.) of the Ministry of Marine and Island Policy, following consultation with the city's stakeholders. The Master Plan reflects the long-term planning of ThPA SA to increase capacity in order to serve larger vessels, to support entrepreneurship and interaction with the city. E.S.A.L. approved the Master Plan of Th.P.A S.A. at its meeting on 13.03.2017. At the same time, a 5-year Business Plan was approved.

The contribution of ThPA SA's management to the international tender procedure for the sale of 67% of the share capital of the company, stressed the role of Thessaloniki Port as a Gateway Port in Southeastern Europe. The announcement, on 24.04.2017, by HRADF of the association of “Deutsche Invest Equity Partners GmbH”, “Belterra Investments Ltd” and “Terminal Link SAS” as the bidder of the tender, indicates a new development phase at the Port, creating the conditions to upgrade the Port of Thessaloniki in favor of the national economy and employment.

Taking into account the total throughput of the first four (4) months of 2017, it becomes clear that ThPA SA achieved a total return to the cargo volumes handling. Container throughput is increased by 7,5% and Conventional cargo throughput is increased by 30.2%, with an upward trend for both segments for the first semester of 2017, compared to the same period of 2016. Current statistics result forecasts in the range of 360.000 TEUs for the Container Terminal and 4.000.000 tones for the Conventional Port. Based on the above data, it is estimated that 2017 will be the year with the highest throughput in the Container Terminal of the last ten years and the Conventional port throughput of the highest in the last five years.

Thessaloniki Port Authority SA would like to inform the Investment public that the Annual General Shareholders Meeting will take place on Friday 07 July 2017, instead of Friday 30 June 2017 that was initially scheduled.

The Ex-Dividend date, the Record date and the Dividend Payment date remain as they were.

Thessaloniki Port Authority SA announces the financial calendar for the year 2017 in accordance with articles 4.1.2  and  4.1.4.3.1 of the Athens Exchange Rulebook:

• Publication of the annual financial statements of THPA  SA, for the corporate use 2016, Thursday 27 April 2017. Data and information & Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year 2016 are available at the Company’s website (www.thpa.gr) as well as at the website of the Athens Exchange (www.athexgroup.gr).
• Presentation of the company's financial results to analysts Thursday 08 June 2017.
• Annual General Shareholders Meeting Friday 30 June 2017.
• Ex-dividend date Monday 31 July 2017.
• Dividend beneficiaries "Record date" Tuesday 01 August 2017.
• The dividend payment will start on Friday 04 August 2017.
• The company will issue a newer announcement on the dividend payment procedure.

THPA SA reserves the right   to change the above dates, following relevant notification to the public.

Pursuant to article, 4.1.3.1 of the Athens Exchange Regulations, ThPA SA announces that the ordinary tax audit for the years 2005-2011 has been completed.

According to the audit report, additional taxes and surcharges amounting to      € 2,749,045.11 were attributed to the company, which were paid in November 2016 with reservation, as the payment of the imputed amounts does not imply the acceptance of pledged acts. THPA SA Administration filed an appeal to the Athens Administrative Court of Appeals, requesting (a) partial annulment of the imputed taxes and surcharges, as well as for most of the expenditures that were not recognized by the tax authorities, there are specific ministerial decisions and regulations, which explicitly indicate their recognition for tax deduction (b) the annulment of the imputed differences for the years 2005- 2007 due to their limitation. The Company formed an additional provision of    €796,678.26, which affected the results for the year 2016, so that the cumulative amount of the aforementioned provision formed will cover the maximum estimated risk from the final charge of the tax audit.

The Board of ThPA SA approved the Annual Financial Report on 27.04.2017 for the period 01.01.2016-31.12.2016 from which the following arise:

• The Company’s turnover for 2016 amounted to 48.061.529 Euros compared to 50.881.605 Euros for 2015. Turnover recorded a decrease of 5.54%, but rebounded significantly from the adverse effects of the negative developments in the first half of the year. During this period, there were 32 consecutive days of strike and an additional 4 weeks abstention from working on weekends and overtime by port employees due to the privatization of the company. Furthermore, the railway connection to Skopje closed for 67 days causing serious problems for bulk and general cargo transportation. In addition, for approximately 20 days the road connection to Bulgaria was blocked making container transport impossible.
• Container throughput reached 344,316 TEUs, a decrease of 2.11% compared to 2015.
• Conventional cargo throughput dropped by 17.93% due to the aforementioned negative developments of the 1st semester as well as the decline in operational activities of a major dry bulk customer.
• Income from the exploitation of premises increased by 16.80% due to systematic effort to further utilise these sites.
• The Company successfully implemented its policy to reduce operating costs which decreased by 2.48% compared to 2015.
• A significant increase of 29.69% was recorded in invested capital from 55,199,321 Euros on 31.12.2015 to 71,586,788 Euros on 31.12.2016.

The company continued in 2016 to maintain a high profitability performance:

• Gross profit amounted to 22,171,088 Euros, with turnover percentage at 46.13%
• Operating profit (EBITDA) amounted to 23,877,735 Euros, with turnover percentage at 49.68%
• Earnings before tax totaled 21,081,797 Euros, with turnover percentage at 43.86%, while after-tax results reached 14,084,474 Euros, with a turnover percentage of 29.31%
• The company maintains strong liquidity and zero borrowing.

THPA SA CEO DIMITRIOS MAKRIS STATEMENT

The Company, in spite of the particular difficulties encountered in 2016, has shown resilience, retaining its position in the port market while at the same time achieving high profitability. ThPA SA, standing by its customers and collaborating with them, has tried to mitigate, with flexibility, the impact of these developments.

ThPA SA continues to be a financially sound company with zero borrowing, liquidity and high profitability for the benefit of its shareholders. It continuously strives to improve the quality of its services provided as well as equipment efficiency. Particular focus in 2016 was put on staff training, which is the driving force of the company.

An important milestone was the approval of the Master Plan of the Port of Thessaloniki by its Board of Directors and its submission to the Hellenic Ministry of Shipping, Maritime Affairs and Island Policy, following consultation with the city's stakeholders. This reflects the long-term development plan of ThPA SA to increase capacity in order to serve larger vessels, support entrepreneurship and further integrate with the city. At the same time, the 5-year Business Plan was also approved.

An important focus of THPA SA management was its contribution to the international tender of HRADF for the sale of 67% of the company’s shares. The port management prioritized the promotion of the role of Thessaloniki Port as a Gateway-Port in SE Europe and identified necessary investments. The broad support expressed by the city's stakeholders for the privatization of ThPA SA, with a focus on investments, strengthened the tender process.

This international tender was successfully completed with the submission of binding offers from 3 global port operators. HRADF announced (24.04.2017) that the consortium comprising «Deutsche Invest Equity Partners GmbH», «Belterra Investments Ltd» and «Terminal Link SAS» is the highest price bidder.

The announcement of the bidder marks a new phase of ThPA SA development. The privatization creates favourable conditions in order the Port of Thessaloniki to be upgraded for the benefit of the national economy and employment.