ZAGREB, October 30, 2018 -The Rijeka-based 3. Maj shipyard accumulated a loss of 157.2 million kuna in the first nine months of 2018, when its total revenues amounted to 137.7 million kuna, or five times lower compared to the corresponding period in 2017, the company said in a financial statement released on the Zagreb Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
For the sake of comparison, the 3. Maj dock, that is part of the ailing Uljanik Group, posted a profit of 466,000 kuna in the first three quarters of 2017.
In the first three quarters of this year, sales revenue at the Rijeka-based dock came to 79.3 million kuna or down by 83% on the year. Operational losses increased from last year’s 4.7 million kuna to 179.5 million kuna.
About a thousand workers on 3. Maj’s payroll went on strike last week demanding payment of their salaries for September and the survival of the dock.
The biggest share-owner in the Rijeka shipyard is the Pula-based Uljanik d.d. that holds 88.3% of 3. Maj’s equity.
Recently, Economy Minister Darko Horvat said that some of the potential investors in the Croatian shipbuilding industry, such as investors from China, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Ukraine seem to be more interested in 3. Maj than in investing in the Pula-based Uljanik dock. However, all of them have to first conduct due diligence in Uljanik Group before being able in a position to deliver any business decision and submitting a binding offer, Horvat explained.
On Tuesday, leaders of the strike committee said that they would organise a protest rally in the centre of Rijeka on Monday, 5 November and called on local residents to join the striking workers in their protest.
The agony in Croatia’s shipyards has been going on for years, with the crisis hitting a high point earlier this year, when government had to intervene to pay for workers’ salaries.
If you want to know more about the horror which is the Croatian shipbuilding industry, click here.
