Irish Ferries owner ICG to resume dividend as travel begins to recover

Irish Ferries owner ICG said the indications for a travel rebound this year are good and that it will resume dividend payments to shareholders.

Irish Ferries owner Irish Continental Group (ICG) is to resume dividend payments to shareholders on the back of the lifting of Covid restrictions on travel and an improved annual financial performance in 2021.

The group paused dividends in the midst of the Covid storm in July 2020. 

In its newly-published annual results, for 2021, ICG said following the easing of travel restrictions this year and the resulting improvement in passenger revenues, it sees it as appropriate to recommence dividend payments. 

It has proposed the payment of a 9c per share dividend in July to shareholders on its register as of the close of business on June 10.

Last November, ICG returned €19.8m to shareholders via a share buyback.

ICG significantly reduced its losses last year, posting a pre-tax loss of €4.1m for 2021 compared to a loss of €18m in 2020. Group revenues rose by nearly 21%, last year, to €334.5m.

Irish Ferries’ revenues rose 24% to €175.5m, while ICG’s container and terminal division saw revenues increase 18.8% to €174m.

ICG chairman John B McGuckian said 2021 was a mixed year for the group. He said it was another challenging year, with the continuation of travel restrictions due to the pandemic.

"However, it was also a year of significant progress for the group; in particular with the commencement of Irish Ferries’ services on the strategic Britain-Continental Europe short sea route between Dover and Calais. 

It has been a long-term objective of the group to expand into this route and its commencement in 2021 is all the more impressive given the current difficulties in our market caused by the pandemic-related travel restrictions.

ICG said the reintroduction of travel restrictions on the back of the emergence of the Omicron variant led to a “disappointing” end to 2021. However, it said trading since the start of this year has been strong – especially in the Irish Ferries division – since the lifting of most of the Covid restrictions.

"While the early months are typically a quiet period for passenger travel, the increase in volumes seen in 2022 to date over the prior year are an encouraging indicator for post-Covid travel trends," the group said.

Goodbody said it expects to reduce its 2022 earnings forecasts for ICG by around 10% due to the group being likely to pass on the majority of its increased fuel costs.