The main ferry operator serving the Clyde and Hebrides, David MacBrayne Group Ltd today (October 10, 2014) published its latest annual report and accounts.
The report outlines another successful year for the Group as it continues to innovate to improve the customer experience of travelling across the company’s network of 28 routes. It also highlights a number of prestigious awards the company has received for the quality of its customer service.
Group chairman, David McGibbon said:
“It has been a year of major milestones for us as we continue to strive to develop services that meet the needs of the communities and business we serve. Last May we introduced our first new service for 20 years between Ardrossan and Campbeltown and followed it up with a new winter service linking Lochboisdale in South Uist and Mallaig both introduced directly after consultation with these communities.”
David MacBrayne Ltd is the parent company of Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) which employs more than 1,300 people and has been serving the Highlands and Islands off the west coast for more than 160 years. The report highlighted that they were named Scottish Public Transport Operator of the Year for the third time in four years and won an award for Customer Focus at the Scottish Business Awards. They were also named at the Guardian/Observer Travel Awards as Ferry Company of the Year for the fourth year running.
Key points in the annual report and accounts included:
l Revenue fell slightly from £157.1m in 2012/13 to £154m in 2013/14
l Staff levels remained constant at around 1300
l Scottish Government grant increased slightly from £87.1 million to £93.6 million
l Company paid a total of £8.1m to Scottish Ministers (£6m as dividend plus a further £2.1m as clawback as a result of efficiencies achieved)
l The Group carried 4.8m passengers, 1.0m cars and 0.9m commercial vehicles in 2013/14
l On CHFS routes contract technical reliability of 99.90% and punctuality of 99.81%
l CalMac provided support to a number of key events held across the network in 2013/14 including the Royal National Mod, Iona Pentecost 2013, the Hebridean Celtic Music Festival, the Tiree Music Festival, the Colonsay Book Festival and the Best of the West festival
“In a year that has seen us introduce the world’s first hybrid diesel electric ferry we are committed to continuing to explore innovative ways of improving our services. This includes a commitment to introducing wireless broadband services to all our vessels and ports and to make our ticketing services flexible and customer friendly,” said Mr McGibbon.
“We are proud to be part of the communities we serve and will continue to use our experience and local knowledge to help us shape our services to meet the lifeline needs of the people we serve.” said Mr McGibbon.
The annual report can be viewed at www.david-macbrayne.co.uk/reports
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