ATHENS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The turnover of Piraeus Port Authority S.A (PPA) of Greece last year amounted to 149.2 million euros (170.4 million U.S. dollars) compared to 132.9 million euros in 2018, an increase of 12.3 percent, the company said on Friday.

Profit before tax was 47.6 million euros compared to 42.3 million euros in 2018, an increase of 12.5 percent, according to an e-mailed statement issued after the Annual General Assembly of PPA shareholders, which approved the annual financial statements.

According to the company's Annual Financial Report 2019, the net result improved by 27 percent to 35.4 million euros compared to 27.9 million euros in 2018.

China's COSCO Shipping acquired the majority of PPA's shares in 2016 after an international tender.

The Chinese company's subsidiary, Piraeus Container Terminal S.A. (PCT), has also managed the port's container terminal since 2009. The image of Greece's largest port has already improved with impressive results posted in recent years.

In 2019, PCT's three piers handled 5.65 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) of cargo, a new record in container throughput, said PPA Chairman Yu Zenggang.

"This high performance had several positive effects on the national and local economy, such as an increase in the concession fee, in dividends, in tax contribution, working positions, and finally improvement of the socio-economic footprint of PPA S.A.," he said.

PPA's privatization was highlighted in a survey released on Wednesday by the Athens-based think tank Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) as an example for the positive impact of Greece's privatization program that was launched in 2010 under bailout agreements with international creditors aiming to address the Greek debt crisis.

The impact of PPA's privatization on the country's GDP is expected to exceed 375 million euros in about a decade, up from 90 million euros in 2018. The company is expected to provide over 5,500 jobs over the same period, the survey found. (1 euro = 1.14 U.S. dollars)