Eurotunnel Plc posted a 5% fall in 2000 operating revenues today, blaming the after-effects of the end of duty-free shopping in mid-1999 and saying its recovery was on course.
The England-France rail tunnel operator said revenues dipped to £580 million from a restated £612 million in 1999 as the number of cars carried fell 15% to 2.78 million, which it said was in line with the market. Coach traffic fell 5% to 79,500. Offsetting that was a 10% rise to 1.13 million in the number of trucks carried and a 3% rise in freight tonnage to 2.95 million tonnes.
Chief executive Patrick Ponsolle was upbeat. 'We have met our two main objectives for 2000. The company's recovery continued in 2000 as planned and we anticipate additional progress in 2001.'
Eurotunnel had been looking to increase market share, it now has 54% of the car market. It also wanted to grow revenues from shuttle services, which rose 19% to £315 million, to compensate for the abolition of duty free.
