Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at Irish Ferries operator ICG decreased 11.8% to €3.5 million during the six months to the end of June, 2018.
According to The Irish Independent, ICG attributed the decline to a reduction of €3.6 million in EBITDA resulting from charter activities following the sale of the Jonathan Swift and Kaitaki vessels.
ICG's earnings before interest and tax, including non-trading items, decreased 37.8% to €30.1 million while profit before tax decreased to €29.7 million from €47.5 million the previous year. ICG revenue, on the other hand, underwent a marginal rise of 0.7% to €157.2 million.
Container And Terminal Growth
Commenting on the company's results, ICG chairman John B. McGuckian said, "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 €3.5 million 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 €60.5 million in cash.
"Summer trading has been difficult for the ferries division principally due to technical difficulties on the flagship Ulysses and the late delivery of the W.B. Yeats."
© 2018 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
