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General News
Meropi Kyriacou Honored as TNH Educator of the Year
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
ATHENS – The Chinese management firm COSCO, which operates the port of Piraeus, has elevated it to one of the best and busiest in the Mediterranean and Europe, bringing in significant profits since taking over.
“The improved financial results of our company for the third consecutive year demonstrate that the port’s development and modernization strategy, as well as the important decisions regarding its operation, are absolutely in the right direction,” Piraeus Port Authority President Lin Ji said at the general shareholders meeting, as reported by Naftemporiki.
He said this was achieved by providing high-level integrated port services, making it highly reliable and competitive. He also emphasized that sustainability efforts for the once-dormant port are laying the foundations for resiliency after replacing Greek management.
The agency announced dividends of €1.34 ($1.45) per share, a 29% increase from 2022, when business was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic as the government eased health restrictions and business rebounded.
The total revenues for the fiscal year were €219.8 million ($237.85 million), up 12.9%, or €25.2 million ($27.27 million), compared to the corresponding fiscal year of 2022, which was €194.6 million ($210.58 million).
Profits before taxes amounted to €96.2 million ($104.1 million) compared to €74.7 million ($80.83 million) in 2022, up 28.8%, while profits after taxes stood at €66.8 million ($72.28 million), up 26.3% compared to the €52.9 million ($57.24 million) in 2022.
The figures were a record for the port in terms of revenues and profitability, marking a third consecutive year of growth. Renovations have also enabled the port to attract major cruise liners.
Total passenger traffic in this sector was 1,487,788 in the last fiscal year, a remarkable 68.8% surge from 2022, when the lifting of COVID measures worked to attract tourists, as reported in April.
In the homeporting subcategory, the number of passengers jumped by 110.4%, and there was a 12.4% increase in cruise ship calls, with 761 compared to 677 in the previous year.
Port Authority Chairman Yu Zenggang expressed satisfaction with the “continued upward financial trajectory” and stated that more investments are planned to strengthen Piraeus’ position as a leading port in the Mediterranean and Europe.
