Down not out

Dublin-based ferry operator Irish Continental Group (ICG) has seen profit fall in the first nine months of a tough year, but remains confident it can compete.

The owner of Irish Ferries said operating profit before non-trading charges was EUR 37.5m ($47.37m) to 30 September, compared with EUR 44.6m in the same period in 2007.

This result was achieved despite fuel costs being 60% higher at EUR 40m.

Revenue was EUR 265.5m, against EUR 269.2m the year before.

Passenger numbers fell 5.5% to 1.31m, while car volumes dropped 6.4% to 335,000.

Ro-ro freight is also down 6.6% at 207,000 units.

But fuel prices have decreased from their peak in the summer, providing a “counter-balance” to the weaker demand environment, ICG said.

Looking ahead, it said the overall economic environment remained challenging.

It has cut one daily sailing between Dublin and Holyhead to reduce costs in the off-season and it has been tackling administration overheads.

Printable version Newsletter sign up