British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. (BC Ferries) announced its third quarter results for fiscal 2006/07 with a net loss of $1.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2006, compared to a net loss of $0.9 million in the same quarter last year.
Due to the seasonality of ferry travel, BC Ferries typically generates higher net earnings in the first and second quarters, which are subsequently reduced by net losses in the last two quarters of its fiscal year.
Due to a gain of $61.3 million reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2007, which resulted from insurance proceeds following the loss of the Queen of the North, net earnings for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2006 were $143.3 million, compared to $74.7 million over the same nine-month period last year. Consolidated net earnings before the extraordinary gain for the nine months ended December 31, 2006 were $7.3 million or 9.8 percent higher than the nine months ended December 31, 2005.