Profits fall at Irish Continental

Shipping group and Irish Ferries owner Irish Continental has announced that operating profit before tax and before exceptional charges amounted to €26.5m last year, down from €28.9m in 2003.

In a statement to the stock exchange, the group said the results are "significantly influenced by the costs incurred in our restructuring programme and the loss of revenue arising from the [Irish Ferries] industrial dispute in December 2004".