Port of Hirtshals exceeds expectations and achieves million-DKK profit

Port of Hirtshals performed better than expected in 2023, achieving a profit of 9.3 million DKK. This once again highlights Port of Hirtshals’ is positive development and its solid financial foundation.

At Port of Hirtshals, there is a great satisfaction with the annual result of 9.3 million DKK in 2023. This impressive result, which exceeds the budgeted figure of 7.8 million DKK, was achieved despite a slight decline in revenue, which totalled 84.2 million DKK. This decline is partly due to a major remodelling of two ferries belonging to one of the port's major customers, resulting in suspended operations for nearly four months and an additional two months of reduced capacity. For Port of Hirtshals, this meant lower ship fees and less freight traffic on the routes to Norway

- In addition to freight traffic, car and passenger traffic also experienced a decline, both due to the ferry remodelling and likely the weak Norwegian krone (NOK), which discouraged Norwegians from traveling to Denmark as much as before. On the other hand, we saw a significant increase in revenue from our wind turbines in 2023, as it was the first year without the fixed-price agreement on electricity that was made when the turbines were commissioned in 2020. Overall, the port's 2023 revenue is satisfactory, says Per Holm Nørgaard, CEO of Port of Hirtshals.

In 2023, 126,000 trucks, 721,000 cars, and nearly 2.2 million passengers passed through the port. Fish worth 350 million DKK was landed, while the handled freight volume amounted to 1.67 million tons. In terms of expenses, the port adhered to a sensible maintenance plan, ensuring good and stable port operations and development.