Aircoach sustains €25.6m revenue hit due to Covid-19 pandemic

Private bus operator Aircoach last year sustained a €25.6 million revenue hit due to the impact of Covid-19.

Against the background of passenger numbers plunging by 90 per cent due to pandemic restrictions on travel, revenues reduced from €29.3 million to €3.69 million.

New accounts for Last Passive Ltd show that the business recorded a pre-tax loss of €3 million for the 12 months to the end of March 27th, 2021. This compared with a pre-tax profit of €3.7 million in the prior 12 months – a negative swing of €6.7 million.

The losses for 2021 would have been much greater but for “other operating income” of €3.05 million appearing in the profit and loss account. This comprised Government wage subsidies.

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On Monday, Aircoach’s managing director Dervla McKay stated that since the recommencement of services in June 2020 after the first lockdown “matching services levels with customer demand across our routes in Dublin, Cork and Belfast as well as our new Galway city to Dublin Airport and Dublin city centre service has been a key priority as our business recovers from the pandemic”.

Aircoach is owned by Aberdeen-headquartered FirstGroup plc, and Ms McKay said: "With restrictions continuing to ease in Ireland, we continue to welcome increased numbers of passengers on board our services, particularly with the long-awaited return to sporting and cultural events."

“Looking ahead and in line with the return to international travel post-Omicron, Aircoach is pleased to say that we have plans in place to increase our services further over the coming months to cater to the travel needs of our customers.”

The accounts were signed off on February 16th and the directors state that the trading environment for the next 12 months is set to be challenging in light of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions. They state that based on current measures and cost reductions made in response to lower demand, the directors are hopeful of a resilient financial performance. The 2021 loss takes account of fleet payment costs of €1.99 million.

The accounts for the 12 months to the end of March last show that the business employed 202 employees and staff costs totalled €7.9 million.

Also at the end of March last, Last Passive had accumulated profits of €1.1 million. Shareholder funds totalled €1.39 million.