Private bus operator, Aircoach last year sustained a €25.6 million or 87.5 per cent revenue hit due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Against the background of passenger numbers plunging by 90 per cent due to Covid-19 restrictions on travel, new accounts for Last Passive Ltd show that the business recorded pre-tax losses of €3 million for the 12 months to the end of March 27th 2021.
This followed pre-tax profits of €3.7 million in the prior 12 months - a negative swing of €6.7 million.
The firm recorded the losses last year after revenues reduced from €29.3 million to €3.69 million.
The losses for 2021 would have been much greater, but for 'other operating income’ of €3.05 million appearing in the profit and loss account.
The ‘other operating income’ is Covid-19 wage subsidies from Government.
The Aircoach service returned to 100 per cent capacity last September.
Services back
Dervla McKay, managing director of Aircoach in Ireland, said that since the recommencement of services in June 2020 after the first Covid-19 lockdown “matching services levels with customer demand across our routes in Dublin, Cork and Belfast as well as our new Galway City to Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre service has been a key priority as our business recovers from the pandemic”.
Aircoach is owned by the Aberdeen-headquartered FirstGroup plc and Ms McKay said: “With restrictions continuing to ease in Ireland, we continue to welcome increased numbers of passengers on board our services, particularly with the long-awaited return to sporting and cultural events.
“Looking ahead and in line with the return to international travel post-Omicron, Aircoach is pleased to say that we have plans in place to increase our services further over the coming months to cater to the travel needs of our customers.”
The accounts were signed off on February 16th and the directors state that the trading environment for the next 12 months is set to be challenging in the light of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.
They state that based on current measures and cost reductions made in response to lower demand, the directors are hopeful of a resilient financial performance.
The 2021 loss takes account of fleet payment costs of €1.99 million.
The accounts for the 12 months to the end of March last show that the business employed 202 and staff costs totalled €7.9 million.
At the end of March last, Last Passive Ltd had accumulated profits of €1.1 million. Shareholder funds totalled €1.39 million.
