Excluding the one-off event, net profit in the January-June period amounted to EUR 27m, which is on a par with the first half of 2017, according to the unaudited report for the core company and the group.

The group operating Slovenia's sole maritime port of Koper posted EUR 43m in operating profit in the first half, up 33% year-on-year.

Excluding the EUR 9.1m compensation received over last year's damage to a bridge crane done by a ship during a storm, operating profit amounted to EUR 33m, which is 5% more than in the first half of 2017.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 56m or 28% more year-on-year.

Net return on equity in the first six months was 19.4%, which is 3.1 percentage points more than in 2017.

The EUR 9.1m compensation excluded, net return on equity in the period would be 15.4%, or 0.9 of a percentage point less than last year.

Transshipment in the port was just under 12 million tonnes, which is equal to the first half of last year.

In the January-June period, the group spent EUR 4.3m on investment, and hired an additional 103 workers. The number of employees was up by 9% compared to the first half of 2017 to 1,185.