A Strong Irish Continental Group Cancels Its Newbuilding
1)
In a statement, Irish Continental Group said that Covid-19 makes it difficult to estimate the full year financial impact on the Group.
Reason is the significant reduction in current passenger traffic and forward bookings for what is normally the peak Summer passenger season for ICG’s Irish Ferries services.
“It is very difficult to estimate the full year financial impact on the Group, as the reduction in passenger revenue will be material. In the period from 1/1 to 6/6 car volumes are down 62% with total passenger volumes down 60%.
The impact of Covid-19 on roro has been limited. Roro volumes are down 4%, container volumes are down 13% with container lifts on ICG terminals down 14%.
2)
In the statement, ICG also talks about the Public Services Obligation (PSO) model from the Irish Government. “This was not an approach that we recommended as we believe this model was liable to create distortions in the marketplace and could be open to legal challenge. For both these reasons we decided not to participate in this PSO model, but we committed, without any Government support, to continue operating our lossmaking routes which provide a vital lifeline service to our Island.
3)
ICG announced it has terminated its newbuilding contract with the German shipbuilder FSG.
4)
The Group is in a strong financial position to weather this Covid-19 storm.
