CIE says 2013 figures give grounds for ’cautious optimism’ and ’significant challenges’

Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus returned to profit last year while Iarnród Éireann cut its costs by €25m, according to the CIÉ annual report issued yesterday.

The report reveals that, as a whole, CIÉ increased revenues by €40m last year.

However, funding from the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the exchequer has declined by more than that increase and CIE said its group and subsidiaries still faced “very significant challenges”.

Overall, fare income increased by €40m as passenger journeys increased by 300,000 to 229.4m last year.

CIE achieved €10m in payroll savings and Dublin Bus returned to surplus to the tune of €500,000, with Bus Éireann registering a surplus for the year of €400,000.

Dublin Bus said completion of implementation of the Network Direct project meant passenger growth in the last quarter of last year of 400,000, while Bus Éireann increased its total number of journeys by more than one million.

Meanwhile, Iarnród Éireann achieved cost reductions of €25m, excluding one-off savings, and saw an increase of 500,000km in journeys as staff numbers fell to their lowest level ever.

Passenger numbers increased in the second half of last year, while freight volume grew by 4% across the year. However, some of the positive developments were offset elsewhere.

There was a €20m improvement in cash generated from the group’s operations and improved revenues of €40m, but these were not enough to offset the impact of reduced income from Public Service Obligation (PSO) contracts with the National Transport Authority (NTA).

Income from these contracts and other exchequer grants decreased by €51.3m last year, while payroll savings in CIE were offset by higher fuel costs of €4.2m.

There was also a reduction in the positive pension adjustment the group was advised to take in 2013 of €15.7m.

In a statement CIE said there were a number of reasons for “cautious optimism” but said there were also “significant financial challenges”.

The group said significant revenue growth was partly contingent on decisions taken by the NTA, which is the sanctioning body for fare increases and one where “the objectives of the NTA in respect of fare policy does not take into account the financial stability of CIÉ Group”.

CIÉ said pressure on exchequer finances had led to an “enormous reduction” in public subsidies and significant challenges in securing fleet and infrastructure funding for Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann.