Ferry operator Irish Continental Group forecast a continuation of “challenging trends” as the number of passengers carried in the first 25 weeks of the year fell 9.7 per cent.
The Dublin-based company is “continuing to actively manage” its costs, it said today in a statement to shareholders at the annual general meeting. A decline in revenue identified in May has continued, the company said.
The number of passengers slumped to 571,000 in the period through June 20th, while car traffic dropped 6.6 per cent from a year earlier to 145,500 vehicles.
Consumers in Ireland are reigning in spending on travel as the country battles the worst recession in its history.
At the same time the global economic slump is reducing trade, sapping demand for Irish Continental’s freight services.
The number of freight vehicles carried declined 23 per cent to 93,700 from a year earlier, while the number of containers shipped dropped 29 per cent to 178,000, according to the company.
At 12.45 the stock was down 3 per cent at €9.20 in Dublin giving the company a market value of €226.4 million.
Bloomberg