Spirits soar on record profit and passengers

BASS Strait ferry operator TT-Line has been hailed as “one of Tasmania’s great success stories” after posting a record profit and passenger growth.

TT-Line’s annual report, tabled in Parliament this week, shows the state-owned company posted a record aftertax profit of $25.1 million for the year ended June 30.

The ferries made more sailings and carried 433,925 passengers — the highest figure reported since 2004 when the Devonport-Sydney service was in operation.

Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania head Luke Martin said the fact the company had achieved 31 per cent passenger growth, as well as lower average fares and a strong profit result, was a “tremendous achievement for the company and the State”.

To put these results in perspective, a 31 per cent increase in passengers is almost the equivalent of a whole additional ship on Bass Strait,” Mr Martin said.

“The increase in daytime sailings and the refurbishment has clearly been a tremendous success in providing more lowcost capacity for visitors.

“For the company to achieve all this plus a strong profit result bodes well for the future of the Bass Strait service and should give confidence to the Tasmanian Government and community as we look to invest in a new generation of Bass Strait ships.”

Freight volumes also were the highest on record.

Infrastructure Minister Rene Hidding said passenger numbers had declined to just 330,000 in the final year of the Labor-Green government.

The result justified the Government’s policy to reinvigorate the Spirits through complete refurbishment of both vessels, doubling of day sailings and reducing the average fare prices by 15 per cent as advised by TT-Line, he said.