LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Irish Continental Group reported a 65% fall in car volumes in its first half on Tuesday, at 56,600 vehicles, while roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) freight was 2.7% weaker at 149,400 vehicles.

The London-listed ferry operator said container freight was down 11.7% year-on-year for the six months ended 30 June at 155,700 20-foot equivalent units (teu), while terminal lifts were 13.5% lower at 141,000.

Consolidated group revenue totalled €130.8m (£119.14m(, a decrease of 21.6% year-on-year.

Net debt at the end of June totalled €103.3m, or €71.8m pre IFRS 16, down from €129m and €93.5m pre IFRS16 at the end of 2019.

"The key challenge for Irish Continental during the Covid-19 pandemic has been maintaining our shipping schedules which are critical to the supply chain on and off the island of Ireland," the board said in its statement.

"These services have provided a vital lifeline service to our Island and beyond for food, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and in more recent times a high level of e-commerce goods.

"In the absence of airline capacity, we have also offered a vital lifeline service for essential passenger travel, including returning medical and caring volunteers and technicians to fix vital equipment in our hospitals and care centres."

Irish Continental said it also provided an ability for citizens to repatriate, where they must do so, to deal with emergencies at home.

"While we have been successful in meeting this challenge, the continuation of travel restrictions throughout our peak summer season has had a material impact on our passenger carryings on ICG's Irish Ferries services.

"We have raised our concerns with the Irish government on the current policy of asking people from Britain who visit Ireland to self-isolate for two weeks, while allowing unrestricted transit via Northern Ireland.

"We believe this is clearly anomalous and puts the retention of the Common Travel Area between Ireland and Britain at risk."

The board noted that Irish Ferries subsidiary Dublin Ferryport Terminal (DFT) was successful in the public tender to operate a new container depot at the new Dublin Inland Port.

It said DFT agreed to enter into a 20-year lease for the operation on completion of certain civil works by the landlord, which were expected to begin in August, with the facility becoming operational during 2021.

The facility would be used for the remote storage, maintenance and upgrade of empty container boxes, releasing "valuable capacity" for the handling of containers in the port area.

The Dublin Inland Port would be located adjacent to Dublin Airport, with direct access to the M50 Dublin Ring Road motorway, and the Port Tunnel.

"The group is in a strong financial position to weather this Covid-19 storm and we would refer investors to our cash and undrawn credit facilities position as at 31 December," the board added.

At 0805 BST, shares in Irish Continental Group were up 0.32% in London, at €3.13.

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