Minoan Lines Sees Upturn in Q1 Net Profit

Greek ferry operator Minoan Lines recorded a 4 percent increase in net profit in the first quarter of 2016, a 68.3 percent rise compared to the same period in 2015, the company said this week.

Part of Italian freight and cargo company Grimaldi Group, Minoan Lines said that the Q1 results mark its best performance since entering the Athens Stock Exchange in 1998, citing dropping fuel prices, cost savings and more efficient use of fleet for the improved results. Operating profits (EBITDA) rose by 19.1 percent to 8.5 million euros with consolidated sales coming to 32.3 million euros.

For the first quarter of 2016, Minoan Lines’ northern Adriatic Patra-Igoumenitsa-Ancona-Trieste route handled 45,000 passengers, 11,000 cars and 19,000 large vehicles.

Meanwhile, its Crete (Heraklion-Piraeus) itinerary handled 122,000 passengers, 12,000 cars and 15,000 large vehicles.

Naples-based Grimaldi Group, which controls a fleet of over 100 vessels and employs some 10,000 people, is seeking to obtain complete control of ferry shipping company Hellenic Seaways.