For the first half of this year, Irish ferry and logistics Group, Irish Continental Lines generated revenue of €309.9 mill, some €24.4 mill higher than 1H24.
Operating profit was €24.6 mill, compared to €17.4 mill in 1H24, while EBITDA was €54.9 mill, compared to €49.7 mill in the same period last year.
Gross cash balances totalled €17.8 mill (31st December, 2024 = €41.3 mill).
Net debt at the end of June was €224.1 mill, €61.9 mill higher than at the beginning of the year, primarily due to the purchase of the ‘James Joyce’ cruise ferry (ex ‘Star 1’) and the containership – ‘CT Endeavor’.
The Directors declared an interim dividend of 5.37 cents per share (2024 = 5.11 cents) payable on 3rd October, 2025.
On 2nd April, 2025, the Group announced the purchase of the ‘James Joyce’ cruise ferry. ICG had previously chartered the vessel and she re-entered service in May on the Dublin/Holyhead route.
All eight ferries operated by the Group are now owned or under purchase obligations.
Commenting on the results, Chairman John McGuckian, said; “Despite a difficult start, 1H25 has been a successful period for the Group.
“The closure of Holyhead Port in December, 2024 negatively impacted volumes in the Ferries Division at the beginning of 2025. However, following its partial reopening during January of this year, we have seen a return to more normalised volumes without ro-ro carryings to 30th June up 2.2%.
“Car volumes to 30th June were 4.4% behind the prior period, however, this is mainly due to a reduction in sailings on the Dover/Calais route and the Holyhead disruption.
While we welcome the partial reopening of Holyhead Port, the risk remains of delays to its full reopening. Completion of repairs by the port owner will require further operational restrictions during September and October of this year and in 1Q26, though it is expected that full services will operate on a modified timetable.
“In our Container and Terminal Division, containers shipped have increased by 24.7% versus the prior period and port lifts have increased by 10.0%.
“We continue to build on the progress made in the prior year with a continuation of our space charter agreement with P&O Ferries on the Dover/Calais route. This allows for the sharing of space for freight traffic on both parties’ vessels.
“In addition, we are seeing the benefit of the additional freight capacity provided by the introduction of the ‘Oscar Wilde’ onto the route in 2024. The vessel entered service with Irish Ferries in June, 2024 and has enhanced both our customer offering on the route and increased capacity.
“On 2nd April, 2025, the Group signed an agreement with Tallink for the purchase of the vessel ‘James Joyce’ (ex ‘Star 1’). The vessel was previously on charter to the Group. The vessel entered service with Irish Ferries on the Dublin/ Holyhead route in May of this year.
“The purchase of this vessel follows the acquisition of the ‘Oscar Wilde’ (ex ‘Spirit of Britain’) in 2024 by way of a two-year charter with a purchase obligation in 2026.
“The combination of these two acquisitions result in the Group being in ownership of all vessels in service under the Irish Ferries brand and has eliminated the necessity for chartering in passenger ships. For a number of years, this has been a key ambition for the Group and it is a significant step forward to complete it this year.
“The Group continues to focus on sustainability across all of our operations, and we continue to invest in sustainable initiatives where we believe it is appropriate to do so.
“2025 has seen the introduction of the FuelEU regulation, which is aimed at reducing the carbon intensity of marine operations. This is in addition to the phased implementation of the inclusion of marine emissions to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), with 70% of emissions coming into scope of the scheme in 2025.
“We again take this opportunity to state the importance of the levies raised from these schemes to be reinvested into the research and development of commercially viable alternative fuels and technologies.
“In the current period, the ‘Dublin Swift’ and ‘Isle of Inisheer’ have been operating on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), which can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 80%, compared with conventional fuels.
“While the use of HVO has been successful for the Group, without the reinvestment of ETS and FuelEU levies, alternative fuel supply is unlikely to keep up with demand,” he concluded.
