In a ceremony this morning at the Ministry of Transport in Jerusalem, Ashdod Port Company Ltd. paid a NIS 214 million dividend to the government for its 2011-2013 profits. Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz, Ministry of Transport director general Uzi Itzhaki, Ashdod Port chairman Gideon Sitterman, acting port CEO Isaac Blumenthal, and other executives attended the ceremony.
Katz said, “This dividend is important because it goes into the government coffers and lets the public get broader services, and contributes to lowering the cost of living resulting from the port’s operations. We'll add many more workers, and I have no doubt that there will be competition over the best employees. The new port that will begin to operate in Ashdod will approach the best workers and make them offers. It will not approach the less good workers. We recognize the importance of worker representation, but not the way it happens. No one gave the keys to the port to any one family, or any one person. Everyone must do their job for the sake of the citizens of Israel.”
Sitterman said the Ashdod Port Company had paid the government over NIS 500 million in dividends during Katz’s tenure. Blumenthal said that in addition to paying the dividend, the company will pay its workers bonuses. According to the Government Companies Authority (GCA) guidelines, the workers are entitled to a 10% bonus. The Ashdod Port’s profit totaled NIS 176 million, up 31.6% relative from 2012. The company’s revenue in 2013 was down 2.4% to NIS 1.088 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 30, 2014
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