Cross-Solent ferry operator Wightlink saw a £30million drop in turnover during the COVID pandemic, but still made a £4million pre-tax profit – according to the latest figures from the company’s accounts.
It has been revealed that the company, which operates on 3 routes to and from the Isle of Wight, generated £38.4million in revenue during the financial year ending March 2021 – that was a fall of £30million compared to the previous year.
Despite this 43% reduction in turnover and an operating loss of £3.7million, the company has filed a £4million profit before taxation.
Business interruption insurance helped save the day for Wightlink, with insurers paying out in excess of £9million. A total of £6.4million in Government grants – £4.5million for furlough and £1.9million from the Department for Transport – also helped to bolster Wightlink’s position during the depths of the pandemic.
Official figures show a dramatic 57% fall in passenger numbers from 4.5million to 1.9million, with the number of sailings operated also falling from 41,834 to 19,429 – a 53% reduction.
The company’s strategic report states that Wightlink ended the financial year in a ‘satisfactory’ position given the challenging events of the year. Its net assets are now worth a whopping £132million.
Competitor ferry operator Red Funnel reported losing £24.7million as a result of COVID, as previously reported by Island Echo.
So in essence government grants delivered Wightlink a healthy profit for the year.
Well done Treasury.
Yep, privatisation stinks !
The rich get richer at the tax payers expense.
Only a 57% drop during lockdowns, surely that should have been almost zero seeing as you were not supposed to travel and people were working from home, just goes to show how many 2nd homeowners and holiday lets were still in operation…. investigation should be put in place here. Island Hideaways indeed.
So how about all the food people were eating ? So more transport coming across to stock supermarkets. And all the buying on line so more deliveries. It cost more to bring bigger trucks over, so just maybe a lot of there income came from them…..
Just saying..
Good point. Suggests then that they didn’t need the £1.9 million bail out.
Perhaps then, they should repay the government support as they were only supposed to be “kept going” during the lockdowns, not generate profits from the government. The government should say -“you pay us the £4m and that gets you to zero, which is where our support was supposed to get you to.” That would go some way to repaying the money we gave you.
how nice for the shareholders, good to see the government have donated our money to fill their pockets.
Im glad they no longer need my tenner for tea and a sandwich on the trip. They refuse to take cash, so now I pack my own, I can sleep at night now I know wightlink is not down to its last few quid…
This is why we need our own universities, grammar schools, millitary (including naval board) and most importantly our own parliament!
#IOWHomerule
Yay, I am up for that !
We could even have our own space program. Can I be a sniper ?
But seriously, why can’t we be more like Jersey and the Isle of Man.
Shame they never went bankrupt, as the government could have took the route over. Don’t worry though, just watch their fares go up a ridiculous amount to cover it
and you would have been paying a “ferry levy” through your council tax to pay for the government running the route
be careful what you wish for.