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Dublin based Irish Ferries, owned by Irish Continental Group (ICG) has reported lower pre-tax profits and flat revenues for the six months of this year reports RTE News.

The results from the half-year report to the end of June, is amid the continued return towards pre-pandemic travel patterns after the disruption caused by Covid-19.

The Irish-based maritime transport group said its half year revenues increased by 0.3% to €264m while its pre-tax profits fell by 9.1% to €16.2m from €17.4m the same time last year.

ICG declared an interim dividend of 4.87 cent per share, this is up from the dividend of last year’s 4.64 cent.

In May, ICG chartered the former Baltic Sea cruise ferry Oscar Wilde for an initial 20 month period and Afloat adds with the option to extend by two, plus two years and purchase. The 2,080 passenger ferry entered service on the Rosslare-Pembroke route having replaced another chartered ferry the Blue Star 1.

The continued normalisation in passenger travel levels after Covid had benefitted the Group in all its markets. This was reflected with growth in its Roll on Roll off (RoRo) freight carryings and the strengthening of its position on the short-sea Dover-Calais route competing with P&O Ferries and DFDS.

ICG said the continued return of ferry passenger travel alongside continued support of its freight customers on both its old and new routes (the UK-France route launched in 2021) resulted in the highest ever revenue levels in the ferries division.

More here on the H1 results for 2023.

Published in Irish Ferries

About the Star Sailors League Gold Cup

In 2022, Sailing finally got its own World Cup, according to the promoters of the SSL (STAR SAILORS LEAGUE) Gold Cup. 

Like football in 1930 and rugby in 1987, the SSL Gold Cup is designed to crown the best sailing nation of all! The World's Top 56 countries, selected on their SSL Nation ranking, will battle their way through to raise the coveted and only Sailing World Cup trophy.

The SSL is the global inshore sailing circuit launched by Olympic athletes in 2012, by sailors for sailors. Its main philosophy considers the athletes (not the boats) as the “Stars” and it aims to showcase the annual global sailing championship with its over 15’000 regattas; it determines and celebrates the world leaders in sailing promoting the inshore regattas to the global audience.

The three main components of the SSL Circuit are the SSL Ranking published every Tuesday, updating the position of over 100,000 leading athletes, thus highlighting the world’s top inshore sailors. The SSL Finals taking place every year around November-December, it’s the annual final of the SSL Circuit among the 20/25 best athletes of the ranking, to crown the champion of the season. And the SSL Gold Cup, the ‘ultimate’ championship of the circuit with 56 nations among World Sailing members, to crown the best sailing nation.

In a mechanical sport where the race for technology sometimes gets in the way of the race for glory, the SSL aims for equal competition where the talent of the sailors is at the forefront and the champions become heroes that inspire new generations of sailors.

The SSL is a World Sailing Special Event since 2017.