CIE Tours motors ahead

State transport group CIÉ might be financially challenged but there is one arm of the business that appears to be motoring well.

Accounts for CIE Tours International have just been released and show that the New Jersey-based travel group increased its net sales to $66.6 million for the 12 months to the end of March 2012 as opposed to $55 million in the previous year.

When various costs were stripped out, it closed the year with net income of $894,217 in the year, up from $708,172 in fiscal 2011.

Brian Stack, the US-based president and managing director of CIE Tours, told me that the current financial year, which has just over seven weeks to run, is shaping up to be another “record” one in terms of revenues, which should top $70 million.

The profit line will also show a healthy increase.

Extra capacity

“Confidence levels are improving and our advance bookings are 40 per cent ahead of last year,” Stack said.

Last September’s Notre Dame-Navy American football game in Dublin was hugely beneficial to the business, with CIE bringing over 50 groups and generating about $3 million in revenues.

Stack also welcomed the extra capacity that the various airlines are adding to transatlantic routes out of Ireland.

For example, Aer Lingus is adding another aircraft to its transatlantic services to bolster its routes.

“This will help pricing. It got a little high in 2012 and that caused us a few problems.”

The recent surge in the value of the euro versus the dollar won’t negatively impact the business. “We agreed a rate back in August for 12 months, so it won’t affect us during that time period.”

“We touching all the wood in the officer here hoping that everything comes together for us this year,” Stack said.