Stena Lines half-year volumes
The number of passengers on the Stena Line Group's ferries, fell during the first 6 months of 1998 by 3 percent to 4.2 million (4.4 million). The number of private cars rose by 3 percent to 737,000 (717,000). The volume of freight fell by 1 percent, or 4000 units, to 350,000, trucks, trailers and railway wagons. The volume figures for the Short Sea routes across the English Channel are not included in the comparison, as they are included in the joint-owned company, P&O Stena Line, from March 10 1998. On the passenger side, the Group's volume trend has been disrupted by the HSS ferry, Stena Discovery, being out of service for 12 weeks during the first quarter. This negatively affected the volumes on the routes between Holland and England as well as between Scotland and Northern Ireland. Since the HSS ferry has started operating again, the Group's passenger figures have improved from -11 percent at the end of the first quarter, to -3 percent at the end of the second quarter, in comparison to the same periods in 1997. On the routes around the United Kingdom, freight volumes fell by 3 percent to 182,000 units (187,000) in a competitive market. Stena Line´s position was exacerbated by temporary capacity limitations on the northern corridor over the Irish Sea between Belfast and Stranraer. Freight volumes on the Scandinavian routes increased marginally to 168,000 in the first 6 months. The increase was reduced by transport strikes in Denmark and Norway in the second quarter. The volumes for P&O Stena Line have developed according to plan since the joint venture company commenced its services on March 10. The volume figures route for route can be seen in the attached table. Stena Line's interim financial report for January to June 1998, will be released on Monday, August 24. Gothenburg, July 3 1998 Stena Line AB Mats Kling, Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs Questions from the media should be directed to Mats Kling on Tel: +46 31 85 83 29 or Sue Kirk at the Communication Department in England on Tel +44 (0) 1233 622 558. Stena Line Group volume development January -June Passengers Private cars Freight units 1) 2) Route 1998 1997 1998 1997 1998 1997 Göteborg - 1 208 1167 199 201 83.5 75.4 Frederikshavn Varberg - Grenå 111 139 23 27 7.1 9.3 Halmstad - Grenå 112 138 24 31 11.4 12.2 Göteborg - Kiel 400 447 50 53 18.1 18.1 Göteborg - Travemunde - - - - 32.3 39.3 Oslo - Frederikshavn 241 253 27 28 7.4 7.5 Karlskrona - Gdynia 72 69 10 9 7.9 5.1 Total Scandinavia 2 144 2213 333 349 167.7 166.9 1(2) Hook of Holland - 425 508 78 77 55.0 58.8 Harwich Fishguard - Rosslare 327 325 76 66 17.2 18.5 Holyhead - Dun 737 682 133 112 21.3 17.7 Laoghaire Holyhead - Dublin 60 36 11 4 25.4 21.6 Stranraer - Belfast 551 609 106 111 63.0 70.5 Total Great Britain 2 100 2 160 404 370 181.9 187.1 (excl. Short Sea) Total Group 4 244 4 373 737 719 349.6 354.0 Short Sea (English Channel) 3) 3) 3) Stena Line 496 2 908 83 474 55.8 200.2 4) 4) P&O Stena Line 4 285 - 680 - 324.9 - 4) N.B. All figures rounded to the nearest 1,000 (passengers and private cars) or 100 (freight). 1) Including caravans and private car trailers. 2) The term freight units refers to trucks, trailers, containers and railway carriages. st th R efers to the period January 1 - March 9 1998. Thereafter see P&O Stena Line. P &O Stena Line commenced operation on March 10, 1998. The volumes refer to the period March 10 - June 30, 1998. 2(2)