Tirrenia: €19 million profit in 2014

Naples - Compagnia Italiana di Navigazione Ltd (CIN) had its Annual General Meeting. Items on the agenda; the approval of the financial statement for 2014, the appointment of a new Board of Directors and Chairman, and the confirmation of CEO Ettore Morace for another term. At the meeting, the Annual Report was approved unanimously and shareholders proceeded to appoint the new Board of Directors. Two new names surfaced from the present composition: Emiliano Nitti and Paolo Giorgio Bassi, the latter was also appointed Chairman of the Board; the new members, both proposed by Clessidra Fund, will take over the roles of Riccardo Perotta and Mario Massari. During the Board meeting that followed the shareholders’ meeting, the position of the present CEO, Ettore Morace, was reconfirmed. Despite the year’s negative economic trend, the ferry groups’s 2014 results surged, with 1.9 million passengers and 3.6 million linear metres of vehicles transported. In comparison to 2012 – the year state-owned Tirrenia changed to CIN – a 10.8% increase in passengers and an increase of 16.2% linear metres were recorded. Turnover volumes increased by 6%.

The Ebitda margin also grew in absolute terms (+62%, from €37 to €61 million), and importantly, as a ratio to sales (17.4% compared to 11.4% for the previous year), as well as improved efficiency leading to lower operating costs. Fuel costs, one of the major expenses, experienced a reduction of around €14 million, in line with lower fuel prices, as well as the phasing in of new operational procedures; more precisely, about half of the reduction of fuel costs was due to the drop in fuel prices, and the rest derived from cost-cutting measures. The programme “Energy Saving & Environmental” was introduced in 2014, consisting, among other processes, in the installation of more efficient propellers on 7 of the fleet’s vessels (a project which covered 3 ships in 2014 and will continue on the other 4 in 2015). Final net results amount to €19.4 million, compared to €1.4 million in revenues obtained the previous year. The positive performance was based exclusively on routes not covered by the special agreement with the Italian state. The company, thus, increased its net worth and solidified its financial position, shedding about €48 million from its net debt burden, compared to the closing balance one year earlier. Investments totalled about €9.5 million, mainly due to the scheduled upgrading of the fleet (including propeller replacements on certain units). In 2013 they totalled around €16 million.