2.2 Economic and financial situation

In a context of Spanish GDP growth of 2.5% marked by a situation that is still inflationary, In a context of growth of the Spanish GDP of 3.2% marked by a reduction in inflation with successive rises in interest rates, the activity of the Port of Huelva in 2024 has evolved in parallel with this growth, both for the management of its docks and maritime infrastructures and for the exploitation of the Public Port Domain granted in concession and authorised to a total of approximately 300 companies, generating 11.57 million euros of occupation rate, 10.14% more than in 2023, as well as for the continuation of its ambitious Investment Plan having executed in the total of the financial year some 24 million euros.

The total amount invoiced came to 47.36 million euros at the end of the financial year, an increase of 2.45% compared to the amount invoiced in 2023. This figure also enabled the year to close with a budget execution of 100.72%, which was very close to the initial forecasts.

Although in the total calculation, there was hardly any variation between the amounts invoiced and those foreseen in the Business Plan, there were significant variations in some income items that require clarification.

The Occupancy Rate from concessions has had a positive evolution compared to the budget and the previous year, growing by 10.14% compared to 2023 and 9% above the budget. The good progress in the management of the Public Domain and the increase in concessions and authorisations for occupation, such as that of WPI for a plastics treatment plant or that of Exolum for a hydrocarbon pipeline, has enabled this good result during 2024.

The ship tax (T1), associated with calls and stays of ships in port, also reported a higher income for the port than the previous year and than that initially budgeted (+1.45%). The year closed with a growth of more than 7% in terms of ships entering port, and this has materialised in a higher income of some 150,000 euros compared to the budget. The revenue from this levy was also improved thanks to a 2.5% increase in vessel size compared to 2023.

Similarly, the “T6 for transit zone use” has provided revenue over budget by some 63,000 euros. This increase is due to greater agility in the management of occupancy reports and subsequent management of the service, which led to the updating of invoicing that had accumulated a certain delay.

In a context of growth of the Spanish GDP of 3.2%, the activity of the Port of Huelva in 2024 has evolved in parallel with this growth.

Revenues from fees for commercial services showed the same positive evolution at the end of the year, although in this case the impact on the overall figure was lower. The growth of this income of 1.74% over the budget is mainly due to the increase in the F101 fee for the use of quay areas caused by the increase in the quayside storage of goods that are growing rapidly, such as “logs/biomass”, cement or briquettes and coils from the iron and steel industry.

Finally, revenues from “compensation and repercussion of damages” as well as from “miscellaneous services” have also experienced significant growth during 2024. With regard to Compensation and damages, the increase has been completely temporary due to the exceptional amount paid to the former concessionaire DRACE GEOCISA (€233,914.93), which, once its concession was terminated, reached a compensation agreement with the APH in order to re-establish the original conditions of the facility they occupied at the Saltes Quay. Miscellaneous services” also doubled its turnover during 2024 due in this case to the amounts settled for the interest received from the Land Accessibility Fund, as well as to a better and more agile management in the repercussion of IBIs to the authorised companies in our service area.

In contrast, other revenue items showed decreases in amount compared to the estimated budget, thus reducing the positive effects of the previous rates. Such is the case of the “Activity rate” of concessions, which ended the year with a drop of 6.5% compared to the initial budget forecast. This was because major terminal operators and operators suffered losses in the volume of goods moved during the year 2023, which is the benchmark for regularising the activity rate in 2024. This was the case in important concessions such as ENAGÁS, which moved 1.4 million tonnes less in 2023, or CEPSA’s Monoboya and Reina Sofía jetty, which lost 1 million and 730,000 tonnes respectively.

At the end of the year, revenues from T3 “merchandise tax” and T2 “passenger tax” were equally negative, falling by 3.45% and almost 30% respectively compared to the estimates made in the budget for the year. The significant delays accumulated in the submission of weight certificates and general documentation by shipping agents during the last month of the year had an impact on the final invoiced rate figure. Approximately 40 vessels calling in 2024 had to be left pending for settlement at the beginning of the 2025 financial year.

The passenger tax reduced its turnover by more than €44,000 compared to 2023, and owes its fall to the negative evolution of the number of scheduled passengers, which decreased by more than 19% in 2024. The departure of the Naviera Armas regular line to the Canary Islands had a negative impact on this traffic, with around 3,500 passengers lost at the end of the year.

In addition to the aforementioned income, financial income includes income generated by cash positions, although it also includes interest on arrears, deferred payments, deferrals and loans. With regard to the first item, the increase in interest rates on the markets and the liability war with financial institutions led to an average return on cash of 3.62%, with a total income of 5.01 million euros, compared to 4.33 million euros in 2023.

Operating expenses, including depreciation, amounted to 46.49 million euros, compared to 45.91 million euros in 2023, representing an increase of 1.28%, due both to the 4.49% increase in personnel expenses due to salary revisions and the incorporation of new staff and 2.83% in other operating expenses, as depreciation fell by -2.19% due to the end of the depreciation period for some assets and the delay in the incorporation of new assets resulting from the execution of the investment plan.

Among the items of other operating expenses, which increased by 507,953.28 euros, or 2.83%, there was a reduction in repairs and maintenance expenses of -424,646.99 euros, or -6.86%, due to the fact that in 2023 the damage caused by the Bernard storm in the port service area was accounted for. However, on the other hand, technical assistance expenses increased significantly by 565,411.35 euros, or 77.86%, due to the transfer to expenditure for technical assistance of technology that was in progress as fixed assets, and which was not finally incorporated into fixed assets as initially expected. The supplies and consumption item increased by 150,972.32 euros, or 10.87%, due to the variation in the price of electricity, and in other external services, which also increased by 215,457.67 euros, or 5.88%, the increase in the cleaning items is worth highlighting.

The usual cash ratios show that there is ample capacity to service debts.

With respect to the approved budget, the personnel expenses item was lower than expected by -6.51%, representing a lower expenditure of -735,997.55 euros, due to the reduced incorporation of personnel and the delegated payment of the Social Security. The other operating expenses item was -17.10% with a lower expenditure of -3,801,126.56 euros, particularly due to the non-execution of maintenance works such as the repair of Muelle Sur, the repair of joints in the Tinto bridge and the absence of dredging due to the lack of administrative authorisation.

It is important to note that the inter-port compensation fund contributed 1,457,000.00 euros, which is included in the operating expenses section, while the fund received was 286,000.00 euros, as other operating income, resulting in a net contribution of 1,171,000.00 euros.

Profit before tax amounted to EUR 11.14 million in 2024, compared to EUR 10.15 million in 2023. The effect of corporate income tax is positively felt due to the activation of deduction rights, increasing the final result for the year by EUR 1.3 million, resulting in a final profit for the year of EUR 12.48 million, compared to EUR 11.93 million in the previous year, where rights for deductions not applied were also recorded.

The target annual return, which excludes income and expenses that distort the result, including corporate income tax, is 2.73%, higher than the previous year, which was 2.50%, with the average asset having increased due to the incorporation of the works carried out under the Investment Plan.

The usual cash ratios show that there is ample capacity to service debts, in particular, the immediate cash ratio to cover current liabilities is 8.45. This ratio was higher in 2024 because more of the available cash was held on current account due to higher remuneration, although the available cash is usually placed in more profitable financial products, which require less availability and are priced on cash forecasts.

During the year 2024, where the resources from operations amounted to 25.89 million euros and the applications were reduced by the lower execution of works and the reduction of long-term financial products compared to 2023, there has been an increase in the Working Capital Fund by 8.32 million euros to 143.87 million euros.

The ratio of operating expenses to operating income in 2024 was 88.43%. For the coming years, incurring the amortisations of the new investments to be made, this ratio tends to high values, so we refer to the fact that the EBITA will maintain similar levels throughout the years included in the Business Plan, guaranteeing financial stability.

On another note, the balance sheet gives a very sound financial and equity picture. Fixed assets are financed entirely from equity and there is no long or short-term debt other than that deriving from the normal operation of the Entity.

On the liabilities side, equity represents 95.83% of the total, and given that the working capital is very comfortable, the entity is meeting its payment commitments without any problems. In this respect, it should be noted that the average payment period to suppliers of 30 days established in the Law against late payment is met, standing at 11.61 days in 2024.