Vopak announces share buyback programme
The Dutch tank storage company Vopak has announced its financial results for full year 2019. Full year ebitda of EUR 830 million (2018: EUR 734 million) increased by EUR 96 million, reflecting a good aggregate business (including new assets) performance of EUR 37 million, positive currency translation effects of EUR 14 million and positive IFRS 16 effects of EUR 45 million.
The occupancy rate of 84% (2018: 86%) reflected IMO 2020 capacity conversions during the year and ongoing market conditions at oil hub terminals.
Eelco Hoekstra, chairman of the executive board and CEO of Royal Vopak commented: "2019 was a profitable year for Vopak. We successfully divested almost 5 million cbm of oil capacity, mainly in Europe, and bolstered our hub positions. We propose to increase our annual dividend by 5% over 2019 and announce today a EUR 100 million share buyback programme to increase our distribution to shareholders." (mw)