SUPERFAST FERRIES STEADILY FIRST IN TRAFFIC VOLUME AND PROFITS IN THE GREECE-ITALY ROUTES

The Board of Directors of Attica Enterprises wishes to announce the financial results for the year 2000, which show consolidated turnover of GrD 67.3 bln, Earnings before Interest and Depreciation (EBITDA) of GrD 14.7 bln, and Net Profit of GrD 5.9 bln.

The Group’s annual accounts include for the first time the financial results of Strintzis Lines in which Attica holds a controlling share of 48.57%.  In accordance to Law 2874/00, additional depreciation charges of GrD 4.2 bln which derive from the Stock Exchange valuation of Attica’s participation in Strintzis Lines as at the end of year 2000, have been charged to this year’s income statement and have reduced Net Profit accordingly. Additional depreciation charges are not included in the abovementioned EBITDA figure.

It should also be noted that due to the sharp rise in oil prices, fuel cost has affected the Group’s results by GrD 6.2 bln.

In particular, the Group’s results, carryings and market shares achieved in financial year 2000 are as follows :

• Attica’s wholly owned subsidiary Superfast Ferries Maritime S.A. posted sales of GrD 33.4 bln, higher by 12.8% compared to the previous fiscal year and Net Profit of GrD 8.8 bln, increased by 2.8% over 1999.  2000’s results for Superfast Ferries were achieved with the same number of ships as in 1999.

Superfast Ferries ranked first for the third consecutive year in the transportation of passengers and commercial vehicles competing among 45 ships operating in the Adriatic trade between Greece and Italy.

* Source: Greek Port Authority
 

• Strintzis Lines posted sales of GrD 33.9 bln, higher by 26.8% compared to 1999 and Net Profit of Grd 611 mln versus GrD 3 bln in the previous fiscal year.  The reduction in Profits, despite the increased turnover, is mainly caused by the additional cost of fuel for which the company spent GrD 3 bln more than in 1999 and by the fact that the previous year’s results included extraordinary profits of over GrD 1.5 bln.

As of the beginning of summer 2000, brand new Blue Star 1 and Blue Star 2 were added to the company’s fleet.  In total, in the international ferry routes between Greece and Italy, Strintzis Lines carried:

*   Includes traffic from Corfu to and from Italy.

**  Source: Greek Port Authority

In the domestic ferry trade, Strintzis’ ships carried 1,941,323 (33.3% more than in 1999), 80,840 trucks (25.2% more) and 274,961 private vehicles (53.9% more).  The company’s brand new ferry Blue Star Ithaki, added to the fleet at the beginning of June 2000 has contributed substantially to this remarkable increase in traffic.

In the current year, Attica Enterprises has already taken delivery of Superfast VI, which commenced trading in the Patras-Ancona route on 15th February, 2001.  Superfast VI will
join Superfast V in the same route, upon her delivery in the coming weeks.

Four more brand new Superfast ferries, namely Superfast VII, VIII, IX and X, currently under construction at Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG, will start ferry services between Germany, Finland and Sweden as of the coming May, whereas two more Superfast vessels will join Attica’s fleet in the first half 2002.   

In addition, four more, ultramodern, car-passenger ferries are being built for Strintzis Lines, two at the Hellenic Shipyards, Greece, and two at Daewoo, Korea, which are due for delivery within the next 15 months and are scheduled to operate in the domestic ferry market.