Fleet Summary

Operated by Ferries Division

Chartered out by Ferries Division

Revenue in the division was 24.1% higher than the previous year at €175.5 million (2020: €141.4 million). Revenue in the first half of the year increased by 2.1% to €62.9 million (2020: €61.6 million), while in the second half revenue increased by 41.1%, to €112.6 million (2020: €79.8 million). EBITDA increased to €23.2 million (2020: €22.3 million) while EBIT was €(17.4) million compared with €(12.3) million in 2020.

Fuel costs were €43.0 million, an increase of €10.2 million on the prior year. The division achieved a return on capital employed of (5.9%) (2020: (4.2%)).

In total Irish Ferries operated 6,331 sailings in 2021 (2020: 4,501), the increase due to the reintroduction of the fastcraft Dublin Swift and sailings on the new Irish Ferries Dover – Calais service.

Car and Passenger Markets

It is estimated that the overall car market¹, to and from the Republic of Ireland, grew by approximately 25.8% in 2021 to 357,200 cars, while the all-island market, i.e. including routes into Northern Ireland, is estimated to have increased by 54.0%. Irish Ferries’ car carryings during the year were up on the previous year by 48.5% to 203,600 cars (2020: 137,100 cars). The reduction in carryings versus 2019 levels is primarily due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions in place for most of the year.

The total sea passenger market (i.e. comprising car, coach and foot passengers) to and from the Republic of Ireland increased by 11.0% on 2020 to a total of 1.2 million passengers, while the all-island market increased by 39.5%. Irish Ferries’ passenger numbers carried increased by 28.7% at 667,800 (2020: 519,000). In the first half of the year, Irish Ferries’ passenger volumes fell by 43.2% and in the second half of the year, which is seasonally more significant, the increase in passenger numbers was 87.7%.

The Ferries Division delivered 96% of scheduled sailings compared with 98% in the previous year across all services.

In 2021, Irish Ferries maintained focus on supporting passenger messaging on how to meet the varied and rapidly changing Covid-19 travel restrictions. Reassurance continued to be provided with our ‘Travel Safe’ programme providing information about our on-board environment with fresh air circulation, access to outdoor decks, space for social distancing, as well cleaning regimes and procedures onboard to maximise the safety for all passengers, all designed to give greater customer confidence. Implementation of exceptional Covid-19 cancellation credit for economy tickets during periods of travel restriction provided further reassurance for customers who did not wish or were unable to travel, in addition to the terms and conditions of our flexible tickets being improved recognising passengers’ greater need to be able to make more changes more easily.

The launch of the new Dover-Calais route was the key focus for marketing and promotions activity in 2021, albeit adapted and at a scale to acknowledge that the launch was in a period of restricted travel regulations. There was a comprehensive multimedia launch for the new route involving traditional and digital TV and radio advertising, paid search, social and public relations activities. By November 2021, market research indicated that 45% of British people were aware of our new Dover-Calais service².

Our website and social channels maintained their importance as much visited and valued hubs for information on these safety measures, the latest updates on travel restrictions in the Irish, British and French marketplaces, as well as providing reassurance on the continuity of our sailing schedules. Our social following increased across the main platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. There were several technology improvements during the year including the launch mid-year of the Hogia Ferry Systems’ standard booking system “BOOKIT” on the passenger side, complemented with a new E-Commerce front end booking flow on the IrishFerries.com website. AI enabled automated web chat was introduced in the last quarter to handle routine passenger enquiries more efficiently, particularly in relation to Covid-19 travel restrictions information.

Irish Ferries continued to link throughout the year with state tourism agencies in Ireland (Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland) as well as in our tourism source markets for Wales (Visit Wales) and France (Normandy Tourism and Cotentin Tourism) to ensure we had the latest insights for each market. In the final quarter of the year, we participated in a collaborative “press the green button” campaign with Tourism Ireland to encourage tourists to return to Ireland.

1. (Market figures source: Passenger Shipping Association and Cruise & Ferry)

2. (Inclusion in an online nationally representative omnibus survey carried out amongst all adults 16+ by a third party market research company)

In a year of ongoing complexity due to managing Covid-19 pandemic challenges, we continued to work in partnership with the travel trade, notwithstanding the requirement to do this more on a virtual basis. In 2021, we were delighted to be recognised by travel trade professionals and voted ‘Best Ferry Company’ for the 14th consecutive time by the Irish Travel Trade News Awards, and in the UK ‘Best Ferry or Fixed Link Operator’ in the Group Leisure & Travel awards for the third year running. These awards were a welcome recognition of our professionalism in continuing to handle the volatile travel circumstances.

New Irish Ferries Uniform

Early in 2021, Irish Ferries commenced the rollout of a new uniform, which will ultimately by worn by all passenger facing on-board crew and port staff. The uniform was the culmination of a year-long design project between Irish Ferries and Irish fashion designer Deborah Veale and involved extensive staff research and engagement. The new look reflects Irish Ferries status as a modern ferry company with proud Irish roots and is an important symbol of the brand for all our customers, with the colour green more prevalent than before. In all, 23 garments have been selected giving on-board crew and port staff a greater variety of styles from which to choose from and are designed to fit and flatter all body shapes and sizes. Sustainability considerations were to the fore in the design process, with many of the uniform materials made from recycled plastic bottles, preventing them reaching our oceans and landfill.

Frontline Crew

The challenges required of the Covid-19 pandemic, were a key focus for frontline staff and crew who continuously adapted to changing regulations, managing the required health and safety procedures and cleaning regimes as well as embracing a continuous testing protocol. These measures ensured they were kept safe while providing the highest standards on-board to ensure continued connectivity for our island and protection for our key freight workers and essential travellers.

(see website with details of our ‘Travel Safe’ programme: https://www.irishferries.com/travelsafe)

RoRo Freight

The RoRo freight market* between the Republic of Ireland, and the UK and France, fell in 2021. The total number of trucks and trailers was down 10.1%, to approximately 926,200 units. This was primarily due to the non-implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which resulted in reduced checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Britain. On an all-island basis, the market decreased by approximately 0.9% to 1.83 million units, clearly showing the distortion in the level playing field between goods arriving into Northern Ireland versus the Republic.

Irish Ferries’ carryings (including Dover – Calais), at 290,000 freight units (2020: 335,500 freight units), decreased by 13.6% in the year with volumes down 15.2% in the first half and down 12.3% in the second half.

Irish Ferries has also been proactive in the online environment for freight customers. In recent years high-quality mobile options have been developed, alongside the traditional desktop, whereby customers can access our freight reservations systems with ease. This has facilitated an increasing proportion of our business being booked via our website, www.irishferriesfreight.com.

* (Market figures source: Passenger Shipping Association and Cruise & Ferry)

Chartering

The Group continued to charter a number of vessels to third parties during 2021. Overall external charter revenues were €8.1 million in 2021 (2020: €5.9 million). Of our seven owned LoLo container vessels, four are currently on year-long charters to the Group’s container shipping subsidiary Eucon on routes between Ireland and the Continent whilst three are chartered to third parties. The Oscar Wilde continues on a bareboat hire purchase agreement with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA.

Outlook

We look forward to a further recovery of our tourism markets as Covid-19 travel restrictions ease, and the introduction of our third vessel on the new Dover – Calais service. We expect continued growth in the RoRo freight market and a continuation of the return of traffic from the direct continental routes to the landbridge.

Despite another difficult year for the Group and in particular the Ferries Division, we take comfort from the continued strength of our balance sheet, the high quality and performance of our asset base and improving the level of service provided to our customers on the Dover – Calais service with the introduction of a third vessel on the route.