Private bus operator Aircoach has recorded a pretax loss of over €7 million this year, new accounts show.
Last Passive Ltd, part of the British multinational private bus group Firstbus, reported that in the 12 months to the end of March, revenues increased by 15 per cent from €26.18 million to €30.09 million.
Its pretax loss of €7.23 million followed a pretax profit of €1.8 million in fiscal 2023. Revenues this year topped pre-Covid-19 levels of €29.3 million.
The company recorded an operating loss of €6.86 million and made interest payments of €369,000.
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The directors stated that the current year “has seen a significant uplift in turnover as passenger numbers increased and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic are no longer impacting the business as they did in the previous years”.
The accounts show that onerous contracts provision concerning a loss-making contract this year totalled €5.78 million.
“The trading environment for the next 12 months is set to be relatively challenging as the company and division continue to face competitive pressure and the high inflationary environment”.
From a cost perspective over the next 12 months, “the environment remains challenging with fuel price volatility and continued high inflation but this is being offset in part by growth and focus in commercial revenues”.
The current period also saw the closure of its Galway route which, the directors noted, “consistently underperformed due to an oversupply of capacity in the market from a number of operators. This delivered a continual operational loss on the route which was unsustainable”.
Driver recruitment at the company has also remained difficult, the company said, in a growing public transport environment, but the directors remain confident the company’s activities will generate a satisfactory result in the coming financial period.
Aircoach operates five key services connecting Dublin Airport with Dublin city centre and its suburbs, as well as non-stop express services connecting Dublin Airport with Cork and Belfast.
Numbers employed by the business, which is owned by the UK headquartered Firstgroup plc, increased from 202 to 235 while staff costs rose 22 per cent from €9.32 million to €11.36 million.
The loss for last year also takes account of combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €1.2m along with fleet rental costs of €1.2 million.
The company takes account of a foreign exchange loss of €236,000 and directors’ remuneration of €162,000.
At the end of March last, the firm had a shareholders’ deficit of €4.45 million. Its cash funds increased by €2.65 million to €4 million.
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