Full steam ahead for Eurotunnel as 2014 profits surge 90 per cent
EUROTUNNEL operator Groupe Eurotunnel yesterday announced that 2014 profits surged 90 per cent as the UK’s economic recovery saw passenger numbers boom.
The undersea rail link reported an 89 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £40.5m as sales rose seven per cent to £870m in 2014.
The positive results come as the company transported a record breaking 21m passengers last year, with almost 7,000 lorries carried on 11 December alone.
Eurotunnel set itself the objective of transporting over two million trucks and three million cars by 2020.
The company has come a long way since 2007 when it was forced to file for bankruptcy in France before undergoing restructuring.
Eurotunnel utilised £2.8bn of long-term loans from Deutsche Bank to help facilitate the change and later in the year posted a small profit for the first time in its history.
Success since then has not been completely even, with the group being forced to sell off its ferry service, MyFerryLink, due to UK competition regulation.
“The group is confident in growth prospects for passenger and freight traffic, and in its ability to control costs,” said deputy chief executive Emmanuel Moulin.