BC Ferries hails strong financial results in first quarter

The Northern Adventure awaiting its next journey from Fairview Bay
BC Ferries released their first quarter financial results showcasing strong
results for the first three months of their fiscal year

British Columbia Ferries is finding that the start of 2019 proved to be good for their financial balance sheets, with the Ferry Service enjoying passenger and vehicle traffic levels that were the highest the company has ever experienced in the first quarter of a fiscal year.

In the report, released today, BC Ferries reported net earnings for the first quarter of 2020 of 12.2 million dollars, that compares to net earnings of 6 million dollars for the same quarter one year ago.

With the strong financial numbers for the first three months in hand, BC Ferries President and CEO Mark Collins, noted how the Ferry Corporation reinvests its money as part of its service expansion plans.

“Net earnings are essential for us to fulfill our commitment to support the growing needs of coastal communities. With the public interest in mind, we reinvest all earnings back into the ferry system. This is evidenced by our $26 million of investments this quarter which is more than our $12.2 million of net earnings. This enables expanded service to communities, larger ships, upgraded terminals, debt reduction and financial sustainability.” 

Contributing to the surge in financial results, was the introduction of the Northern Sea Wolf which started service to Port Hardy and the Central Coast in July; as well as the return of the upgraded Spirit of Vancouver Island vessel for the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island crossings.

BC Ferries provided more than 700 additional round trips compared to the same period in the prior year. The company also introduced the Northern Sea Wolf and re-introduced the upgraded Spirit of Vancouver Island into service. These actions contributed to a 7.3 per cent increase in revenue and a corresponding 5.0 per cent increase in expenses compared to the first quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The boost in revenues comes as a result of an increase in sailings, with more trips on the major routes provided under the Coastal Ferry Services Contract. In the three months ended June 30, 2019, BC Ferries delivered over 45,000 sailings, an average of 497 sailings per day for its customers. 

In the interest of the travelling public, there were 3,268 more round trips provided than required under the Coastal Ferry Services Contract this quarter. The company carried 5.8 million passengers and 2.4 million vehicles, an increase of 2.2 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively, compared to the same quarter in the prior year.

No notes related to the North Coast-Haida Gwaii services were included as part of today's release, other than a mention related to fuel surcharges, which were not put in place on the Northern Service.

The outline of the Financial notes can be examined here.

BC Ferries also included some background to today's announcement, those highlights can be reviewed below (click to enlarge)

For more items of note on BC Ferry service and other marine services to and from Prince Rupert see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.