Grimaldi Group has found it increasingly difficult to find the right companies to buy, so it is focusing on organic expansion.
The owner has been looking at possibilities since losing a bid to acquire Greek ferry operator Hellenic Seaways in August.
But most European companies it deems interesting are either not for sale or are loss-making.
“Some are in a terrible state, are losing money for years and continue to do so. Perhaps for them it’s a hobby,” managing director Emanuele Grimaldi told journalists at the 21st Euromed Convention.
“For me, it's a mystery. The biggest mystery is why the banks are financing them after four or five years of losses.”
In contrast, the Neapolitan owner remains profitable, with consolidated profits of around 10% of turnover.
It continues to grow and has added around 150,000 trailers per year, or half a million in the past three years. Grimaldi’s pending order for 10 ro-ros will help cater to fast growth of cargoes, although they will probably replace older ships that may be scrapped. But the company remains sufficiently competitive to attract business from road and rail, and it expects to win additional customers from the container trade for short to medium-haul business.
However, Grimaldi remains cautious about state incentives to move cargoes from road to the sea, saying that might distort competition and help inefficient companies.
