PORT ANGELES — The Port of Port Angeles had a more than $1.5 million surplus in its 2016 operating budget before depreciation, which was about $1 million more than what was expected, according to a year-end financial report presented at a special meeting Tuesday.
“Overall, the port had a good year,” said John Nutter, director of finance and administration for the port. “We covered all the operating expenses.”
The port had about a $671,784 deficit last year when depreciation is included, he said.
“While we lost money from an accounting perspective, we had positive cash flow,” Nutter said.
That is an improvement over the $1.1 million deficit after depreciation in 2015, he said.
“We increased our bottom line performance by about half a million dollars,” he said. In 2014, the port had a $355,381 surplus after accounting for depreciation.
The port’s surplus is closely related to the log export market, Nutter said, calling it one of the primary sources of revenue that supports port operations.
The port operates several lines of business, including two marinas, two airports, a marine trades area, numerous rental properties, a log yard and two waterfront industrial terminals.
The largest sources of revenue for the port are its marine terminals, which are used for tanker repairs and log and cargo loading, Nutter said.
“The export market tends to be cyclical, and those cycles directly affect port financial results,” he said. “Looking back over the past seven years, volumes have varied greatly.”
In 2010, about 19.5 million board feet of timber was exported. Between 2011 and 2016, exports ranged between just under 66 million board feet and nearly 108 million board feet.
The marine terminals saw $331,000 more in revenue last year than what the port had budgeted, accounting for more than half of the port’s extra surplus last year.
Terminal 3, the port’s cargo terminal, brought in $374,000 more than what was budgeted due to the increase in cargo volume, while Terminal 1, which is used for tanker repairs, brought in $63,000 less than expected.
The marine trades area, airports and rental properties all operated on a deficit last year.
The port’s airports expenses were under budget by about $160,000, primarily due to scheduled air carrier service from Fairchild International Airport to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport being canceled by the air service provider. Service was scheduled to begin March 1 of last year, according to the report.
“We continue to work very hard on getting air service back, but that has not occurred yet,” Nutter said.
He said the state is preparing for a routine audit of the port’s finances next month.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.
