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Storage terminal operator Royal Vopak, has stated that the year 2008 evolved according its pursued objectives for growth.

In a statement released by the Rotterdam-based firm, Vopak said it had increased its global storage capacity by 23 percent to around 27 million cubic meters, and that a continued high occupancy rate had been realized.

Vopak is the world's largest independent tank terminal operator specialising in the storage and handling of liquid and gaseous chemical and oil products. It offers storage and transshipment solutions at 80 terminals in 32 countries.

The company said its financial statements had not yet been assembled in detail nor verified by an auditor. However, the group operating profit for 2008, excluding exceptional items, amounts to approximately EUR 318 million (2007: EUR 272.9 million), which the company says is fully aligned with its earlier-communicated operating profit outlook for 2008 of at least EUR 310 million.

Vopak said it will also include some losses in the financial statement of the fourth quarter of 2008, which include impairments of activities that are not related to tank storage. The company says it expects this will lead to a group operating profit, including exceptional items, of around EUR 320 million.

Final results for the year 2008 will be published on 13th March 2009 before opening of the Amsterdam stock exchange, by means of a press release.