The Steam Packet Group posted an £8m profit in the last year, down from £11m the year before.
The group has put the blame for the drop on a 12.5% increase in operating costs and a below inflation increase in fares.
Despite a growth in freight revenues of 2.6%, the group saw a 2.8% contraction in HGV meterage, which it said is a “reflection of reduced consumer demand due to the general squeeze on household incomes”.
The group also settled debt obligations of £5.2m with the taxpayer through the Treasury and in reserving for the future replacement of Manannan, it invested £16.4m in three-year fixed Notes at 4.75% per /annum in Mar-23.
Manxman
Reflecting on the year, the group praised the timing of its decision to have Manxman built in South Korea which, it says contributed to total passenger numbers of 623,037, the highest since 2007 and 4.2% up on the prior year (597,156).
This contributed to a 7.6% increase in passenger revenues, despite weaker motorcycle volumes during the TT and Manx Grand Prix.
Its figures show the flagship cost £80.4m against a budget of £84m, which it estimates today would have cost £120m.
It said: “An equivalent build at today’s prices would be likely to exceed £120m.
“Furthermore the decision to hedge the USD shipyard instalments in Nov-20 mitigated the foreign exchange risk and generated a cashflow saving of £8.3m.”
You can read the full report here.
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