By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Nassau Container Port’s operator beat the profits forecast for its 2019 financial year by some 8.4 percent or almost $600,000, its just-released financial statements have revealed.

Arawak Port Development Company (APD), the BISX-listed manager for the commercial shipping facility on Arawak Cay, unveiled total comprehensive income of $8.03m for the 12 months to end-June 2019 compared to internal forecasts of $7.41m when the year began. It had initially predicted a $1.195m profits fall.

However, despite beating projections, APD’s bottom line was some 6.7 percent below the prior year’s $8.605m, with earnings per share (EPS) coming in at $1.61 compared to 2018’s $1.72 per share.

This, though, was not unexpected given that APD had adopted a “conservative” approach to budgeting and financial forecasting for the 2019 financial year, citing numerous potential local and international headwinds to economic activity that could impact import volumes.

Besides the value-added tax (VAT) increase “curbing consumer spending for the foreseeable future”, the port operator had warned in its 2018 annual report that other development/construction projects were unlikely to fully replace the import activity associated with the rush to complete Baha Mar’s construction and full opening.

Michael Maura, APD’s then-chief executive, also warned that the US-China “trade war”, with both countries’ tariffs increasing the price of consumer goods, and the upward spike in global oil prices represented further challenges for the Bahamian economy and cargo volumes.

Still, APD’s revenue projections were spot on, with the port operator’s $30.913m top-line just short of the $30.996m that was forecast at the year’s beginning. Revenues finished the financial year down just 2 percent compared to the prior year’s $31.532m.

The port operator’s expenses remained largely flat year-over-year, rising marginally to $17.786m compared to $17.615m in 2018. This, too, resulted in earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation finishing flat at $13.126m compared to $13.916m in 2018.