LONDON (Alliance News) - Transport and logistics group Falkland Islands Holdings PLC said Thursday its performance in the first five months of the financial year has shown an improvement on a quiet period a year earlier and said it expects an encouraging result for the full year.
The company said the improvement in the first five months was mainly down to the increased contribution from the Falkland Islands Co (FIC), its fishing agency, where record squid catches and increased economic activity have resulted in a bounce in profit year-on-year for the period.
The contribution of the business to the group increased and other support services under the FIC operation benefited in the lead-up to the 2015 oil drilling programme, the group said. The unit's retail and housebuilding businesses also delivered higher profits, it added.
FIC is also well positioned to benefit from the increased economic activity in the Falkland Islands, the group said, though it said this will be dependent on Premier Oil PLC proceeding with the Sea Lion field or Noble Energy and Falklands Oil & Gas Ltd, in which Falkland Islands Holdings holds a 2.4% stake, making a commercial discovery in the South Falkland basin.
For Momart, its UK art transport, shipping and storage business, Falkland Islands Holdings said that while the first five months have shown an improvement in its performance, the strong mix seen in the second half of the 2013-14 year is not expected to be repeated, hitting its expected performance in the second half of the year.
Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Co saw a 2% decline in passenger numbers in the first five months, but its overall contribution to earnings has remained flat following the hike in fares in June. Harbour Spirit, the new ferry for the company, is still set to be delivered in the first quarter of 2015.
"Another encouraging result is expected for the full year, driven by an increased contribution from FIC which we expect to offset the expected return to more normal trading levels at Momart," said Chairman David Hudd.
Falkland Islands Holdings shares were up 4.2% to 368.5 pence on Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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