Future of Brittany Ferries cast into doubt following reports of further losses

26 Jan 2012 - Shipping

• Reports claim that French ferry firm recorded further losses in the year ending September 30th 2011

• Brittany Ferries reported losses of €5.6 million the year prior

Following the collapse of SeaFrance earlier this month, the future of Brittany Ferries has now been cast into doubt amid reports that the French ferry firm recorded further losses in the year ending September 30th 2011.

Brittany Ferries, which operates services between England, France, Ireland and Spain, increased its turnover for the 12-month period by seven percent to €370 million, according to an article in the French media.

The company though is still likely to suffer the losses it experienced in the year prior of €5.6 million, according to the IFW.

However, Jean-Marc Roué, the Brittany Ferries Chairman, claimed earlier this week that the company was in the financial position to break-even following a three-year period in the red.

The official report of Brittany Ferries financial figures is expected in March.

The French company has been hit hard by the rising numbers of passengers using the Channel Tunnel, rising fuel costs, and the deployment of larger vessels by P&O on its Dover-Calais service, claims Roué.

In response, Brittany Ferries has now scaled down its operations on cross-channel routes and is looking to enhance its service to Spain.

According to Roué, freight and passenger services from the English ports of Portsmouth and Plymouth to Santander and Bilbao have recorded particularly strong growth over the past few years.

“In just a few years, we have gone from three weekly round-trips to seven, and 2011 traffic totaled 30,00 HGVs, 100,000 cars and 250,000 passengers,” said Roué.