OREANDA-NEWS. January 22, 2013. Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port Group (“NCSP Group” or the “Group”) (LSE: NCSP, Moscow Exchange: NMTP) announces today that its consolidated total cargo turnover for the full year 2012 increased 1.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) and amounted to 158.9 million tonnes.

NCSP Group CEO Rado Antolovic said: “Despite an ailing global economy and harsh weather conditions in 2012 we managed to achieve y-o-y growth in freight throughput at our ports. We handled almost 159 mln tonnes of cargo in 2012, an all-time record for the Group. In some cargoes, specifically oil products, ferrous metals and grain, we have well outgrown the market. Starting in August of last year, NCSP began handling coal, which was the major driver of bulk cargo growth for Russian ports in 2012, and we strongly believe that coal will be an important addition to our diversified cargo base going forward.

“In 2012 the universal nature of our port assets once again enabled the Group to offset the impact of volatile commodities markets, natural disasters and restrictions on railway deliveries, which meant we could compensate for declines in certain cargoes by increasing handling of others that are experiencing higher demand.”

Liquid cargo

The transhipment of liquid cargo in the reporting period increased by 700 thousand tonnes (or 0.5%) year-on-year to a total of 131.1 million tonnes. Crude oil handling totalled 110.8 million tonnes, declining 2.3% as compared to 2011. Oil products turnover demonstrated solid growth, increasing 17.4% year-on-year to 19.4 million tonnes. This was primarily driven by the launch of the Fuel Oil Terminal in Novorossiysk, which started operating at full capacity in October and handled over 2 mln tonnes of fuel oil in 2012.

Bulk cargo

In 2012 NCSP Group handled 11.8 million tonnes of bulk cargo, representing a 5.8% decrease versus 2011 due to a decline in grain in the second half of the year caused by a poor harvest, as well as by lower iron ore and mineral fertilizers handling.

Coal handling has grown steadily since August, amounting to 254 ths tonnes for the full year, while cement throughput more than doubled compared to 2011 and reached 322 ths tonnes.

General cargo

General cargo was the best performer in 2012, with throughput increasing by 20.3% and amounting to 10.9 mln tonnes. Handling of ferrous metals increased 26.2% y-o-y to 8,7 million tonnes, which accounted for the bulk of this growth. Timber volumes exceeded 730 thousand tonnes, a 21% year-on-year increase.

Containers

NCSP Group container throughput in 2012 increased to 623.7 thousand TEU, up 4.4% year-on-year. In order to capitalize on the fast-growing container segment, the Group continues to implement planned investments into expanding container terminal capacities.