Shares in ferry operator, Irish Continental Group, rose slightly yesterday upon news that the company is recovering well from last year's foot-and-mouth-related downturn in trading. The shares had risen by 10 cents to €8.65 by mid-day but were up just five cents by the end of the day.
Shareholders at the group's annual general meeting heard that the Irish Ferries operation had seen an 18 per cent rise in the number of cars carried to Ireland in the year to date, compared to a 10 per cent increase in the total number of cars carried by all the ferry companies on these routes.
Speaking after the meeting, Irish Continental managing director, Mr Eamonn Rothwell, put these figures into context. He said the current incoming car market across the Irish Sea was down by 12 per cent when compared to 2000, the year before the foot-and-mouth outbreak. While such a fall was "a little disappointing", he said Irish Ferries had broken the trend by staging a 3 per cent increase in volumes over the same period. "We've outperformed the market," he said.
Company chairman, Mr Tom Toner, said the firm had been helped by Ulysses, the world's largest car ferry, adding that, as of yesterday, forward car-ferry bookings were ahead of the same point in 2001. In the roll-on roll-off freight market, he told shareholders the Irish Ferries business had grown in line with an overall rise of 3 per cent in freight travel into the Republic in the year to date.Shareholders are to receive a final dividend of 11.4 cents per share for the year-ending December, 2001, based on pre-tax profits of €9 million for the preceding 14 months.
