The profit of …
The profit of £8.5 million represents an increase of £7.5 million compared to 2003 with the most positive performances being seen on the company`s five Irish Sea routes between Britain and Ireland.
According to Stena Line`s CEO, Gunnar Blomdahl, the company has succeeded in improving profits in 2004 due to a combination of strategic business investments, improved service and quality, continued efficiency and reduced costs.
“In recent years we have focused on Stena Line becoming a profitable company, and we are pleased to announce that we are well on our way,” said Mr Blomdahl. “Future developments look positive and we now have an opportunity to continue expanding our business and become even more successful and more appreciated by our customers.
“We have invested around £340 million in our vessels and route network in recent years. Our business investments are continuing and we are also investing in developing our customer service. Providing guests with experiences that exceed expectations, both in terms of service and on board experience, will be an important competitive device in future,” he continued.
All Stena Line`s markets reported improved profits compared to 2003 but the most positive performance in 2004 was on the Irish Sea, which had previously reported relatively weak profits.
“We have considerably strengthened our market position on the Irish Sea, via investments such as the new Fleetwood-Larne freight route and the introduction of the Stena Adventurer RoPax ferry on the Holyhead-Dublin route in 2003. Both of these investments have been very successful,” explained Gunnar Blomdahl.
Business is also continuing to develop steadily for both freight and passenger operations in Scandinavia.
“The two new vessels on the Goteborg-Travemunde route are showing good progress and we expect the Karlskrona-Gdynia route to retain strong growth for freight and passenger operations in the future. To assist this trend we are refitting the Stena Baltica at a cost of £18 million, which will provide dramatically increased freight capacity as well as completely new, modern onboard concepts,” stated Mr Blomdahl.
North Sea operations are under increasing competition, which they are succeeding to control well.
“We strongly believe in the market and developments on the North Sea. We will introduce two newly built RoPax vessels in 2006 on the Hoek van Holland-Killingholme route, which is a strategically important freight route for us. This is an investment that we believe will have a positive impact on business,” concluded Gunnar Blomdahl.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
