IRISH CONTINENTAL Group made a loss of €1.2 million in the first 18 weeks of the year due to rising oil prices and a 6.5 per cent fall in passenger numbers. It made a profit of €200,000 for the same period of 2010.
The ferry company said the biggest threat to its business was the recent spike in oil prices. Its fuel bill rose by €10 million in 2010.
ICG chief executive Eamonn Rothwell said the group’s fuel bill this year would rise by €10-€12 million on 2010 if the current prices of oil and the dollar were to remain constant.
“That’s a lot to be passing on [to customers] in the current economic environment,” Mr Rothwell said.
ICG does not hedge its fuel or currency requirements. “If we knew where the price of oil was going, we wouldn’t be in the shipping business,” Mr Rothwell said.
ICG passenger numbers declined by 6.5 per cent to 430,100 in the period from January 1st to May 14th while its car traffic was 1.4 per cent down at 96,700 vehicles.
This was partly due to the fact that European airspace was closed due to volcanic ash for a portion of the same period in 2010, which had the effect of boosting traffic for ferry operators at that time.
“We would have been broadly flat if it wasn’t for the ash,” Mr Rothwell said.
ICG’s roll-on, roll-off volumes increased by 11.7 per cent to 70,900 units while container freight was down 2.7 per cent.
ICG said capacity reductions in the Ro-Ro market and the airline sector were “positive backdrops while the strength of the balance sheet is a major positive in the current market”.
ICG’s revenues rose by 2.4 per cent in the year to €77.5 million.
Mr Rothwell welcomed the Government’s decision to reduce the rate of VAT in the hospitality sector to boost tourism.
“Anything we can do to stimulate the market has got to be good,” he said.