Greece’s Minoan Lines Posts Profit
Passenger ferry company Minoan Lines announced last week growth with a 5.6 percent increase in turnover for the first nine months of 2014.
Minoan, which services Mediterranean and Adriatic sea ports, said that revenue for the first nine months of 2014 came to 134,9 million euros compared to 127,8 million euros in the same period in 2013, marking a 5,6 percent increase.
Minoan said that 2014 has been a year of recovery for the Greek economy. Following a long period of recession, Greece is now entering a phase of growth achieving a primary surplus and a positive growth rate of 1.7 percent in the third quarter of the year compared to the same quarter of 2013. These developments, the company said, are positive signs and confirm stabilization.
Minoan said that despite the difficulties in the passenger-shipping sector due to a significant drop in traffic as a result of limited income and increased competition, it has managed to significantly improve its financial performance.
Furthermore, in 2014 the company operated the Adriatic line (Patras-Igoumenitsa-Ancona-Trieste) including the port of Ravenna, achieving high market shares. In the first nine months of 2014, Minoan transported 374,000 passengers.
In its Iraklion-Piraeus route, Minoan carried 623,000 passengers maintaining its leading position on the market.