Wightlink made a profit of £16million in the financial year to March 2023, according to the company’s latest financial figures. The cross-Solent operator published its accounts – which are available on Companies House – on 8th January, covering the period from April 2022 to March 2023. The books show that revenue increased by 10.8% year-on-year to £78million, but profits fell from £18.9million to £16.0million due to higher costs. The highest-paid director – who is unnamed – took home £398,000, with a further £285,000 paid out to other directors. A dividend of £10million was proposed to be paid in June last year, despite Wightlink taking a COVID rescue grant from the Government. Away from the finances, the accounts report that the total number of sailings carried out by Wightlink in the year to March 2023 rose by 7.5%, with the company’s market share also increasing to 62.1% – growth of 1.3%. ARCA TopCo Limited is the top-level company in the group, which reports overall debts of £263million. It is controlled by Eaglecrest Marine Bidco Limited and Basalt Infrastructure Partners LLP.
WIGHTLINK MADE £16MILLION PROFIT IN LAST FINANCIAL YEAR AFTER 10% REVENUE GROWTH
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Disgusting profiteering
not really – how do you think they will afford the mandatory pay rises for all minimum wage rises in april and the associated rises for all other staff to maintain the differential. How do you think they have cash available for those unexpected costs, such as breakdowns and don’t forget – they owe over £70m to the group of companies that wightlnk is part of, not to mention that £170 million is owed overall by the group and wightlinks assets are held as collateral for their part.
Minimum Wage – AKA Government Stealth Tax. Doesn’t cost HM Gov a penny but ups the tax take all the way up the chain.
As for the poor things having to pay debt interest, now I wonder how that came about? Anything to do with public service assets being traded around the globe like sweeties, with bankers the only winners?
Not surprised for what they charge for a slice of toast
Don’t buy nothing on a trip. People can live a hour without food and water
Only if the bloody toaster is working
Why does a director of ferry company need salary of £398,000 ?. £16 million profit. If IOW owned that would help with funding short fall, also no need for director level staff etc, being council probably cook books and pay no tax and add few more millions!
Do you really think that IoW council could run the ferries without going bust in a year? You are living in the Twilight Zone. They are a useless bunch of incompetent buffoons.
Careful: you can’t have profits into the public purse AND low prices. But if the asset didn’t change hands every few weeks there would not be the debt burden (ie interest charges) which would make a huge difference.
The shareholders will be delighted.
Such a shame that Islanders will not
The more astute reader of those accounts will notice that they say they did pay the £8 million dividend last year, as announced and they have proposed a dividend of £10 million for the period ending June 2023, which if agreed to, will be paid before March 2024.
so, shareholders will have benefitted from £18 million in dividends in the last two years.
Yeah, exactly
that’s £18 million taken out of the pockets of Islanders and Island Visitors, which could have been spent elsewhere on the Island
No wonder it costs so much to cross the Solent, profit, profit, profit. Disgusting and the highest paid director, no names given of course, gets god knows what, does he deserve it NOT ON YOUR NELLY, put your money back into the company and cut the prices of tickets all year round and don’t be greedy and put them up in the school holidays, its not on.
Whilst I’m not condoning what wightlink do, I went to book 2 trips away for the summer holiday and both return crossings would have cost £480. For £330 I bought 10 multilink passes, booked the trips I wanted with the added bonus of 3 more trips to go away with. All tickets used now on prime time school holiday crossings for £33 each way.
which just goes to prove that they can afford to do it for £33 per crossing….
so why not just make it a blanket £33 per crossing for ALL Islanders….
Bet the directors and shareholders of both Dick Turpin companies are laughing as they sip their champers sneering at “the plebs on the Island that we are squeezing until they squeal as they contribute to our indulgent lifestyles”. For God’s sake both of you give us a decent realistically priced service.
With that profit, Wightlink may employ staff to clean their toilets. I dread to think what germs exist in those toilets. The other day, when returning on their flagship vessel, I noticed my ‘CLEAN ME’ was still visible after five days.
Shitelink, greedy, dirty ferries, expensive fairs, no wonder they make so much money. £398,000 per year, why???? An unnamed director, I thought all directors had to have the name listed on company house, I smell a rat.
Scandalous profits at the expense of Holidaymakers / locals
£16million profit sounds a lot, a hell of a lot.
Except, looking on Google, there’s around 45,000 crossings a year, meaning around £355 profit per crossing.
Again from Google, it says an average Wightlink ferry can hold 178 vehicles. Knock that back to 100 vehicles, as not all will be full, and that means a profit of £3.55 per vehicle.
I’m more than happy for my figures and maths to be corrected, but even if everything is rounded down, it doesn’t sound like a huge profit per vehicle.
Perhaps the problem is that the running costs, overheads etc are far too high, but I don’t know as I don’t work there.
But, from the bare figures (and assuming my maths and Google are not too far out) it’s not a massive profit per vehicle.
So happy for them all. Happy new year to wight link.
Does that mean bonus for Bob then?