BC Ferries says they have seen an increase in net earnings for their second quarter, which they attribute to the increased passenger when compared to the previous year.
According to the quarterly report, BC Ferries’s earnings were $102.1 million which is an increase of $21.7 million from last year for the same quarter. They also saw an increase of 300,000-foot passengers using the ferry when compared to the previous year.
Revenue also climbed 11 per cent over the previous year, but BC Ferries says they typically generate more earnings during the first and second quarters because the system has a higher utilization, which is subsequently reduced by net losses in the last two quarters.
Although the services saw increases in revenue, passengers, and earnings BC Ferries noted expenses also increased by 11 per cent during the quarter due to inflationary pressure across all their operations, bringing the year-to-date expenses to a total of $530.2 million. An increase of $39.2 million or eight per cent.
President and CEO Nicholas Jimenez says the financial outlook for BC Ferries remains subjective because they are facing cost pressures like any other transportation company.
“While traffic revenues are strong, like many other transportation companies, we continue to experience significant cost pressures,” he says. “The outlook for year-end remains subject to those cost pressures, variability of economic conditions, and travel demand which slows in the winter months.”
Jimenez says looking ahead there are a lot of projects they are taking on which they are focused on completing.
“We’ll make substantial investments in vessels and terminals to maintain high levels of service reliability,” he says. “We’ll also continue to focus on catching up on multiple years of deferred investments in our people and infrastructure.
“This includes our early wage re-opener to provide employees with increases in advance of timing in the collective agreement, and expansion of minor routes with four hybrid electric vessels.”
BC Ferries says they completed 24,277 round trips from July to September and employed over 1,200 new employees so far this year.
The report states only one per cent of their sailings were canceled, and this reflects an increase due to mechanical issues during the quarter.
