Land sale pushes CIÉ into black

THE profits on the sale of land in Dublin helped push CIÉ into the black last year.

The company’s annual report said it made a profit of €20 million compared to a loss of €4m in 2003. However, the profit figure includes the annual grant from the Government, which totalled €267 million across the group last year. Without the subvention, CIÉ would make massive losses.

Group turnover for the year increased from €661.9m to €683.5m.