Blue Star Ferries Increases Profit By 75%
Stintzis Lines, owner of Blue Star Ferries, announced last month that the ferry line posted a consolidated 9-month profit before taxes that was 75.3% higher when compared with the same first nine-month-period of the year before and reached 3.4 million euros. Turnover for the period in question, 95.7 million euros, increased by some 8% over the year before.
The Greek coastal ferry line said the improvement in its group profits was mainly due to increased carryings in the passenger and private vehicle segments on domestic market routes. This was thanks to the successful deployment on Cycladic island routes of newbuildings Blue Star Paros and Blue Star Naxos, which proved much more economical than older vessels.
Strintzis management added that results in the first three quarters were achieved despite the 30% decrease in the number of trips performed compared with the previous year because of the sale of vessels Ionian Sun, Blue Aegean and SeaJet 1.
The company made special reference to the successful deployment of Blue Star 1 on the Piraeus-Cyclades-Dodecanese route from July of last year.
Blue Star 1 performs four return departures per week from Piraeus to the islands of Kos and Rodos, and also serves the islands of Patmos, Leros, Syros, Myconos and Amorgos.
Strintzis, in which Attica holds 48.6%, says the company is at the forefront with three brand new ships on the Cycladic Islands’ routes, the deployment of Blue Star 1 on the Dodecanese route, and as of March 4, the new fast connection between Piraeus and Chania with ultra-modern Blue Star 2.