Unlike some other Croatian shipyards, “Viktor Lenac” is in trouble.
After last year’s record revenues and profits, “Viktor Lenac” Shipyard in the first half of this year posted a loss of 9.3 million kuna. Total revenues were almost three times lower than in the same period last year, 111 million kuna, in comparison with 294 million kuna last year, reports Novi List on August 1, 2016.
The new director of the shipyard Aljoša Pavelin, who was named as CEO in May, admits that the situation is serious, but he claims it is still not dramatic. However, a meeting with workers’ representatives has already been held, and a meeting with all the workers is also being planned.
The large loss is primarily a result of the lack of work at the docks. Unlike last year, when the shipyard was “bursting at the seams” and when the main concern was whether all the agreed projects could be completed within deadlines. Pavelin claims that the situation will improve by the end of the year. “According to all our current projections and calculations, in the second half of the year we should compensate for the losses in the first six months and conclude the year with a positive business result. The profit will not be large, but we should avoid any losses”, says Pavelin.
“We are concerned with the results achieved in the first six months of this year. We expect that Pavelin and his management team will make a radical change”, says trade union representative Damir Bačinović.
The shipyard has high hopes from possible further cooperation with the United States Navy. Americans are planning to overhaul USS Mount Whitney, the command ship of the 6th Fleet. The tender is currently in progress, “Lenac” has made its offer, and the final decision should be made during September. Another comprehensive overhaul, which was done on USS Mount Whitney last year, brought more than 30 million dollars to the shipyard.
On the other hand, the other Rijeka shipyard, “3 May”, continued the trend of positive business results. According to published report, the shipyard in the first half of the year had a profit of 48 million kuna, which is about 14 million more than in the same period last year. The total revenues of the shipyard climbed up to nearly half a billion kuna, which is an increase of 117 million kuna
