The announcement from Irish Ferries operator ICG of another delay to the delivery of the W.B. Yeats ship is set to hit earnings at the company by a further €4m – €5m, according to Davy analysts.
The group had already taken a hit of €2.5m in lost revenue from cancellations announced earlier this year.
On the back of this, analysts have reduced their financial year 2018 earnings estimate for ICG to €74m from €78.5m.
However the Stockbroker group added that while the news, which sees the holiday plans of up to 19,000 passengers thrown into disarray, is “disappointing to all concerned” it does not see the setback as material in the context of a 40 year useful life of the ship.
Read more: Ferry delivery delay costs ICG €2.5m
As a result of this Davy is leaving its financial year 2019 earnings forecast for ICG unchanged at €91m.
In April this year a further 2,500 Irish Ferries bookings were disrupted when Irish Ferries cancelled sailings between July 12 and 29. However 95pc of those choose to switch to Irish Ferries’ other cruise ferry, the Oscar Wilde.
Following the latest disruption, all Dublin-Cherbourg sailings up to September 13 have been cancelled. The ship is now set to debut this autumn on its Dublin-Holyhead route.
FSG — Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft & Co. KG — the German ship builder commissioned to deliver the new vessel said that the setbacks are “due to delays in the delivery of interior components for public areas and on the electrical system installation in the hull and deckhouse”.
Customers affected by the cancellations are being offered €150 voucher—however it can only be used to Ireland-France routes “next year” and not the 2018 season.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42
