Shipping group, Irish Continental (ICG), is looking for good profit growth this year, following the 6 per cent cut in the seasonal loss before tax from £1.9 million to £1.8 million in the first half to April 30th, 1997. Anticipating a good second half, the shares bounced ahead by 42p to a record 825p.

It had completed the substantial investment in new cruise ferries with the delivery of the 2,200-passenger/122-truck Isle of Inishmore and its introduction on the Dublin/Holyhead route, and the transfer of the Isle of Innisfree - built in 1995 - to the Rosslare/Pembroke route, said managing director Mr Eamonn Rothwell.

The performance on both routes had been "very encouraging". No specific forecast has been made for the full year other than an expression of confidence that there will be a "satisfactory outcome". However, pre-tax profit should rise from £10.5 million to around £14 million and earnings per share should grow from 44.2p to 55p. A pointer to the growth comes with the increase in the interim dividend from 1.8p net per share to 2.16p, representing a 20 per cent rise. The loss per share was reduced from 7.4p to 7.1p.

The latest results, however, are better than what is apparent at the pre-tax stage. Despite the marginal 2.8 per cent rise in sales, from £46.97 million to £48.28 million, ICG recorded an operating profit, before exceptional items, of £546,000, contrasting with the loss of £98,000. Following the write-off of its investment in Bell Lines, it did not have to contend with the share of losses from that company. Interest costs, however, rose from £2.1 million to £2.36 million, reflecting the fleet expansion programme.

Sales in the first half were affected by the suspension of the unprofitable winter sailings to France in its ferries' division. If these were excluded, the underlying growth would have been a more meaningful 9 per cent. Sales in the ferries' division fell from £30.1 million to £29.4 million. However, these figures disguise a good performance on the Irish Sea operations where sales rose by £1.9 million, despite the annual overhaul of the Isle of Innisfree.

Passenger numbers on the Irish Sea grew by 6.6 per cent to 418,000. In contrast, passenger numbers to France fell by 49 per cent to 20,000 due to the suspension of the winter sailings. Ro-Ro freight volumes were up 7.5 per cent to 51,000 units on all routes - they were 18.3 per cent better on the Irish Sea.

Sales in the container and terminal division rose from £18.1 million to £20.3 million, while operating profit went up from £757,000 to £781,000. The volume of containers rose by 20 per cent. ICG's net borrowings increased to £110.4 million as a result of capital expenditure of £35.5 million, most of which represented the final instalment due on the construction of its new multi-purpose ferry, the Isle of Inishmore.

This puts the gearing at 139 per cent, not particularly high for a shipping company, and well below Stena Line's 370 per cent.