Passenger numbers and revenue at Irish Continental Group fell in the first four months of the year, the company said today.
The ferry company carried 10 per cent fewer passengers during the period, with numbers reaching 391,000 in the period up until May 9th, 2009, including foot and coach passengers. Car numbers were also down, with 98,000 cars using ICG's services in the four months, 5 per cent fewer than in the same period a year before.
However, over the Easter season, ICG carried 28 per cent more cars than the previous year.
"The travel consumer is becoming more and more price conscious and there is also a continuing trend towards later booking," the firm said in a statement.
Group revenue for the period was €76.2 million, a 25 per cent fall compared to a year earlier.
However, a 24 per cent fall in operating costs before depreciation to €68.2 million helped offset this, as the firm lowered payroll, fuel, vessel time charter costs and volume related port charges. This resulted in earnings before interest tax and depreciation (EBITDA) of €8 million compared with underlying Ebitda of €12.2 million in the same period in 2008.
Freight journeys were down 23 per cent, as competition increased on the Dublin to Holyhead and Dublin to Liverpool routes coupled with lower demand in the freight market demand due to the economic environment.
The company noted its business is "significantly weighted" towards the second half of the year, with a higher proportion of the group's operating profit typically generated than in the first six months.