In Short

A roundup of today's other business stories in brief:

Irish Ferries handles 27% of Irish Sea freight

Takeover target Irish Ferries handled more than a quarter of all freight trailers that crossed the Irish Sea last year, making it the biggest operator in the sector on that route.

Figures released yesterday by the Irish Maritime Development Office show that the ferry line, which is owned by Irish Continental Group (ICG), carried 27 per cent of all trailer freight on the Irish Sea last year. It accounted for 236,953 trailers out a total of 876,900. This was almost 7,000 ahead of its nearest rival, Stena Line.

Dublin-listed ICG is the subject of an €18.50-a-share bid by management led by chief executive Eamon Rothwell. But a possible rival offer of €20.75 from a partnership of investment vehicle One51 and shipping group Doyle could trump this. The second offer will depend on a due diligence process, which is under way.

The figures also show that turnover in Irish ports was €1.7 billion last year and the industry directly employed 8,300 people. The maritime body also said bulk cargoes - grains, feeds, timber, etc - drove double-digit growth in regional ports such as Dundalk, Greenore, Waterford and Tralee/Fenit.

Irish ports handled 32 million tonnes in bulk cargoes last year.

Snap Printing revenues up 12%

Print and design group Snap Printing has announced that its first quarter revenues grew 12 per cent year on year to €5.7 million.

The group now has 23 franchises throughout the Republic, having opened in Wexford during the quarter.

Snap Printing holds the master franchise for Britain and Ireland from the Australian Snap Printing Group. National sales manager Leonard Murtagh said it was now considering expanding into Northern Ireland and Britain. He said it hoped to open up to seven new owner-operated franchises by the end of the year, with two in Northern Ireland.

Lansdowne Oil seeks partners

Lansdowne Oil & Gas, the AIM-listed exploration company focused on offshore Ireland, has said it is actively seeking farm-in partners to further develop its activities.

The company, which acquired its Irish assets from Ramco in January 2006, released its maiden results yesterday, revealing a loss of £401,000 (€588,880) for 2006. In the statement, Lansdowne said there was considerable interest in the Celtic Sea and a number of companies were considering their involvement. Farm-in agreements would enable Lansdowne to avoid any heavy financial outlay and the large risks associated with exploratory drilling.

Petrel signs deal with Jordan

Petrel Resources, the AIM-listed company exploring for oil in Iraq, has signed a production sharing agreement with the Jordanian government on the East Safawi block close to Syria.

Petrel said the Jordanian production sharing terms were world class, with the contractor receiving 60 per cent of oil or gas production up to 10,000 barrels a day, with a sliding scale to a 35 per cent share for more than 100,000 barrels.