French ferry operator Brittany Ferries reported a profit of €22.6 mill, on a total turnover of €444.7 mill last year.
This was more than double the preceding year’s turnover of €202.4 mill and just €22 mill less turnover recorded in the 2018/2019 financial year (the last pre-Brexit and Covid financial year).
Notable events in 2022 included the arrival of the company’s first LNG-fuelled ship, ‘Salamanca’.
In total, four new LNG-powered ropaxes are set to join the fleet between 2022/2025, including two LNG-hybrids.
In 2022, the number of passengers carried was 1.84 mill, compared with 2.5 mill in 2018/19, while freight amounted to 167,711 units versus 201,554 in 2018/19.
Twelve ships are operating connecting France, the UK, Spain and Ireland, through 14 routes.
Looking ahead, the company said that it remained confident, as bookings were up by 23% thus far this year pointing to a recovery towards pre-Covid business volumes.
Passenger traffic showed stronger results on long-haul routes: between the UK with Spain, France with Ireland and Ireland with Spain. The Irish market recorded particularly strong passenger growth with a 48% increase in volumes carried, compared with 2018/2019.
This was in part due to the expansion of Brittany Ferries’ routes connecting France and Ireland, as well as increased frequency on Roscoff to Cork route and the opening of the Cherbourg to Rosslare route to passengers, having previously operated in freight-only mode.
A commitment to French seafarers and the French flag has been part of Brittany Ferries’ DNA since its creation 50 years ago. At the outset of the Covid crisis, Brittany Ferries made a pledge to protect employment.
Today it remains the largest employer of French seafarers with all-French flagged vessels. In the high season last year a total of 2,768 people were employed by Brittany Ferries in all four markets. This included 1,872 seafarers, more than two thirds of the total.
‘Salamanca’ joined the Brittany Ferries fleet in March, 2022. She was the second in a series of five new vessels to join the fleet, in the period spanning 2019 to 2025. She was followed by the LNG-powered ‘Santoña’ in March, 2023.
