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Belfast Harbour made an underlying pre-tax profit of £36.7m in 2023, up by 7% on 2022.

The volume of trade moving through the port fell by 2% to just under 24m tonnes.

The harbour said the slight fall in trade reflected tough economic conditions in 2023, and structural factors such as the continued decline in coal imports.

It invested £65m in capital and infrastructure projects during the year.

Last week, the harbour was granted planning permission for a nine-storey office development which is part of its City Quays scheme.

The harbour said it would like to invest more but is constrained by public finance rules, which means its borrowing counts against the Department for Infrastructure’s budget.

Chair of Belfast Harbour, Dr Theresa Donaldson, said: "Unfortunately, in 2024, this borrowing constraint remains a limiting factor and we will continue our positive engagement with the infrastructure minister and his officials."

The trade moving through the port can act as a barometer of wider economic conditions.

The harbour said the volume of container traffic pointed to a year of two halves in 2023, with a steep decline of 12% in the first half of the year and a strong recovery in the second, finishing overall 5% down on the previous full year.