Irish Continental reports strong first half despite fleet difficulties

(Sharecast News) - Ireland-based ferry operator Irish Continental Group issued its results for the half-year ended 30 June on Thursday, with revenue rising 0.7% to €157.2m year-on-year.The London-listed firm said its EBITDA fell 11.8% to €26.1m, with EBIT including non-trading items sliding 37.8% to €30.1m.Basic earnings per share were 32.9% lower than they were a year ago at 15.3 euro cents, while adjusted earnings per share slipped 12.9% to 8.1 cents.Net cash at period end stood at €54.6m, up from €26.7m 12 months earlier.The board said the EBITDA reduction was primarily due to an EBITDA fall of €3.6m from external charter activities, following the sale of vessels Jonathan Swift and Kaitaki.Jonathan Swift was sold in April for a cash consideration of €15.5m, and a profit before tax of €13.7m, following the May 2017 sale of the Kaitaki for a cash consideration of €45m and a profit before tax of €29.3m.Fuel costs increased by €2.8m, or 14.3% during the period, to €22.4m.Looking at its operations, roll-on-roll-off (RoRo) units were 3.2% higher in the half-year, with containers shipped rising 0.9% and port lifts ahead 5.2%.Cars carried were down 2.1%, however.The board pointed to a delay in the delivery of the W.B. Yeats cruise ferry by the shipbuilder, which affected planned schedules in 2018.Technical difficulties on the flagship Ulysses reduced fleet capacity in June, and into July.Irish Continental announced an additional fleet investment of €165.2m in January.The board declared a 5% increase in the interim dividend to 4.21 cents."I am pleased to report a resilient performance in the first six months of the financial year with growth in revenue of 0.7% to €157.2m," said chairman John B McGuckian."This performance for the first half of the financial year is underpinned by increased freight volumes and good volume growth in the container and terminal division."While our first half EBITDA is down €3.5m on the same period in the prior year, it should be noted that this is principally due to the reduced chartering income in the group following the sale of the Kaitaki and Jonathan Swift which were sold for a combined total of €60.5m in cash, [for a] profit of €42.4m."McGuckian said summer trading had been "difficult" for the ferries division, primarily due to technical difficulties on the flagship Ulysses and the late delivery of the W.B. Yeats."We would like to apologise again for any disruption these schedule changes caused to our tourism and freight customers."We look forward to the delivery of the W.B. Yeats in late 2018 which will bring cost savings and significant additional earnings potential for the group."