Grand Harbour Marina plc - Interim Results

On 30 August, Grand Harbour Marina plc (GHM) published its interim results covering the six months ended 30 June 2014. The results include the performances of the wholly-owned marina in the Grand Harbour of Malta and the IC Cesme marina in Turkey in which the Company owns a 45% stake.

Performance Overview

During the period under review, GHM reported a 5% increase in revenue to €1.58 million reflecting the increased income from pontoon fees and ancillary service at the Malta marina. For the third consecutive year, no berth sales were recorded during the first six months of the year.

Meanwhile, operating expenses in Malta were relatively unchanged at just above €1.06 million leading to a 17.2% increase in earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to €0.51 million.

After accounting for a depreciation charge of €0.16 million (HY2013: €0.16 million), GHM reported a 28.1% increase operating profit to €0.35 million. This profit solely relates to the Malta operation.

Additionally, during the period under review, the IC Cesme marina in Turkey turned profitable (before tax charges) with the 45% share of GHM amounting to €0.06 million compared to the share of loss of €0.08 million incurred in the previous comparable six months. The Turkish marina continued to progress with a further 11.1% increase in revenue to €2 million reflecting the continued increase in seaside revenues as the marina increased the number of berths on annual contracts by 22 to 347 berths despite the 49 non-renewals experienced during the period under review. The marina also underwent a reconfiguration which result in 6 additional berths of up to 20 metres in length. The landside operations, managed by GHM’s local partner IC Holdings Ltd, further strengthened the operation of this marina. After deducting operational expenses, unchanged from the previous comparable period, the Turkish marina reported a 60% increase in EBITDA to €0.8 million. Furthermore, after accounting for depreciation and finance charges, IC Cesme registered a pre-tax profit of €0.1 million compared to a €0.2 million pre-tax loss incurred during the first six months of 2013.

GHM also incurred €0.46 million in net finance costs compared to €0.44 million in the first six months of 2013 with the increase largely reflecting the premium paid by GHM in relation to the €0.37 million bonds it bought back from the secondary market.

On a consolidated basis, GHM reported a marginal pre-tax profit of €15,795 compared to a pre-tax loss of €0.15 million in the first six months of 2013. However, after accounting for a tax charge of €53,953, GHM’s loss for the period under review amounted to €38,158 (HY2013: loss of €216,309).

The Statement of Financial Position shows a 5.3% drop in total assets to €16.6 million largely reflecting the utilisation of the Company’s deferred tax asset as well as the cash balance (including the payment of the interim dividend of €0.084 per share paid in April 2014). Total liabilities also decreased by 0.3% to just under €14 million mainly due to the reduction in the balance of GHM’s outstanding bonds after it cancelled the aforementioned €0.37 million bonds that were subject to a bond buy-back. Similarly, total equity contracted by 25.3% to €2.6 million reflecting the €0.84 million dividend payment in April 2014. This translates into a net asset value per share of €0.2607.

Outlook 

Looking ahead, the Directors explained that although conditions for berth sales remain challenging, the Company is currently actively pursuing a number of prospects.

Overall, the Directors remain confident that both marinas (Malta and Turkey) can compete effectively with other similar marinas in the region. In this respect, the Directors noted that they will continue to focus to deliver value to shareholders by seeking to maximise return on assets of the Company and by giving priority to increasing revenue whilst maintaining expenditure at a sustainable level.

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Grand Harbour Marina plc – Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2014.