Ashdod Port Company Ltd. paid a NIS 214 million dividend to the government for its 2011-2013 profits.

In a ceremony at the Ministry of Transport in Jerusalem, with the presence of Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz, Ministry of Transport director general Uzi Itzhaki, Ashdod Port chairman Gideon Sitterman and acting port CEO Isaac Blumenthal, Katz said, “This dividend is highly 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.

Port chairman 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 to the government, the port company will pay its workers bonuses.

According to the Government Companies Authority 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.