Irish Continental, the shipping group, today reported an improved performance in the first half of 2008, despite a sharp rise in fuel costs.

However, it warned that prices for passengers and freight will have to rise to cope with the higher fuel costs.

Pre-tax profits were €17.5m, compared with a loss of €1m a year earlier when the results were affected by a once-off charge. Underlying operating profits were also up - from €16.4m to €17.3m. Revenue moved up slightly to €166m.

ICG said fuel costs rose by 64% to €24.9m. Passenger numbers fell by 1.2% to 681,000, while car numbers dropped 2.3%. Roll-on roll-off freight volumes were down 3%, but container freight showed a 7% increase.

Chairman John B. McGuckian said:"This is a robust operating result, with profit before interest of ?17.3 million in the first half of 2008 despite substantially higher fuel costs and a challenging economic backdrop."

Results detail