Gross profit
Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2019 increased $114.9 million, or 77.6%, from $148.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 to $263.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, primarily driven by a decrease in operating expenses and cost of services, as well as an increase in income from voyages and related services, partially offset by an increase in depreciation expenses.
Other Operating income (expenses), net
Other operating income, net for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $36.9 million, compared to other operating expenses, net of $32.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, an overall change of $69.7 million, primarily driven by (i) an impairment of $1.2 million recorded in 2019, compared to an impairment of $37.9 million recorded in 2018 (related to the designation of three vessels for scrap and the corresponding classification of such vessels as held-for-sale) and (ii) an increase of $32.5 million in capital gains (mainly related to containers and real estate assets).
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2019 increased $7.7 million, or 5.4%, from $143.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 to $151.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, primarily due to an increase in depreciation expenses (mainly due to the adoption of IFRS 16) and in salaries and related expenses (mainly in actuarial expenses and related-services subsidiaries).
Finance expenses, net
Finance expenses, net for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $154.3 million compared to $82.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $71.7 million, or 87.0%. The increase was primarily driven by (i) an increase of $48.1 million related to additional interest expenses recorded with respect to the implementation of the IFRS 16 and (ii) an increase of $25.1 million related to foreign currency exchange differences.
Income taxes
Income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2019 decreased $2.4 million, or 17.0%, from $14.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 to $11.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Year ended December 31, 2018 compared to year ended December 31, 2017
Income from voyages and related services
Income from voyages and related services for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $269.6 million, or 9.1%, from $2,978.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 to $3,247.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. This increase was primarily driven by (i) an increase in income from containerized cargo of $218.7 million, (ii) an increase in income from demurrage of $27.3 million and (iii) an increase in non-containerized freight revenues of $18.0 million.
The number of TEUs carried for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased 285 thousand, or 10.8%, from 2,629 thousand TEUs carried for the year ended December 31, 2017 to 2,914 thousand TEUs carried for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase in TEUs carried was mainly driven by the increases in the Pacific and in Intra Asia trades. The average freight rate per TEU for the year ended December 31, 2018 decreased approximately $22, or 2.2%, from approximately $995 for the year ended December 31, 2017 to approximately $973 for the year ended December 31, 2018.
The following table shows a breakdown of our TEUs carried, average freight rate per TEU carried and freight revenues from containerized cargo (i.e., excluding other revenues, mainly related to non-containerized freight and demurrage; see also Note 25 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus) for each geographic trade zone for the periods presented. For a discussion of the factors that drove changes in average freight rate per TEU carried in our industry, see “— Factors affecting our income from voyages and related services.”