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B.C. Ferries boosts profit, passengers

Source: Carla Wilson / Times Colonist
Date: November 20, 2015

B.C. Ferries increased earnings and passenger numbers in its latest financial quarter.

Earnings came in at $84.5 million for the three months ending Sept. 30. That’s up by 10.6 per cent from $76.4 million in the same period in 2014.

Bolstered by an increase in traffic, revenue rose by 2.9 per cent to $292.5 million in the latest quarter from $284.2 million a year ago.

The second quarter saw 7.1 million passengers and 2.6 million vehicles on more than 45,000 sailings on all of the company’s routes.

Operating expenses rose slightly, by 0.7 per cent, to $194 million, and capital expenditures came in at $28.7 million in the most recent quarter. Major projects included terminal construction, vessel upgrades and modifications, information technology investments and upgrades and equipment for terminals and buildings.

Ferries expects to spend more than $3 billion to replace older vessels and other assets in the next 12 years, Mike Corrigan, B.C. Ferries president and CEO, said Friday.

“Earnings are important so we can continue to invest in projects such as new fuel-efficient vessels and new technology systems that will offer customers opportunities for discounted fares at off-peak travel times, a model we are currently testing with our 50 per cent off vehicles promotion,” Corrigan said in a statement.

B.C. Ferries is heading into a slower season, a time when refits are completed. Some of that business has come to the capital region.

The Queen of Cumberland’s $18-million mid-life upgrade begins next week at the Esquimalt Dry Dock and is scheduled to be completed in April.

Read the full article at: http://www.timescolonist.com/business/b-c-ferries-boosts-profit-passengers-1.2116792#sthash.Nh2fpu8N.dpuf