WESTERN Ferries has reported an increase in profits after costs fell during its most recent financial year.
The company made a profit before tax of £3.46 million for the year ended March 31. That is up from £2.87m the year before, according to accounts newly filed at Companies House.
Profits climbed as operating expenditure decreased to £7.71m from £7.82m, which Western said was mainly attributable to lower fuel and docking costs, while turnover rose to £10.78m from £10.45m.
The managing director of the Dunoon-based company, Gordon Ross, declared the firm’s financial performance has given Western the “confidence” to invest in new vessels.
Western revealed in May that it had placed an order with English shipyard APCL Cammell Laird to build two car and passenger vessels to serve the 20-minute crossing between Hunter’s Quay in Dunoon and McInroy’s Point in Gourock.
Gordon Ross said: “We are very proud of our service resilience and robustness and to ensure that we can continue to provide that level of service to our customers, the time is right to invest in new boats.”
The two new vessels, making a total investment of £21.6m by Western, are on schedule to be delivered this coming summer. As reported in this newspaper, Cammell Laird hosted the keel laying ceremony for the first of the new car and passenger ferries, the MV Sound of Scalpay, in late November. The second of the new ferries will be called the MV Sound of Sleat.
Mr Ross noted: “We obviously considered various powering options and the most efficient is using diesel. However, the new vessels have been designed to be retrofitted to accommodate new powering solutions over their useful economic life.”
The new vessels are being built to “essentially” the same design as the two ferries the Merseyside yard built for the Scottish company, the MV Sound of Seil and the MV Sound of Soay, in 2013. Those ferries have been hailed as “stalwarts” of Western’s four-vessel fleet, contributing to the delivery of around 32,000 sailings per year.
Western will consider its options for the two older vessels in the fleet once the new ones are delivered. At least one may be retained by the company if there is demand for more sailings on the Gourock to Dunoon route.
The highly-regarded service is established as an alternative route during periods of disruption caused by landslides at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful. Western anticipates even greater use of the link during extended building works to improve the A83.
“If we could see an uplift in business, it is an argument for retaining at least one of the vessels to provide the additional frequency and the additional capacity,” Mr Ross said.
As well as providing that alternative route, Western delivers a journey of choice made by tourists who come to Dunoon and wider Argyll.
The company is seeing the number of sailings it undertakes increase, although that number remains below the pre-Covid level. Mr Ross cites the impact of changed patterns of work, study, and shopping that emerged during and continue after the pandemic.
