Harbour Company Plc News

Mersey Docks and Harbour Company Plc, the U.K.'s number two port operator last week said full-year profits reached record levels. The group, which owns the Port of Liverpool, said pre-tax profits rose 9.2 percent to $82.52 million, while turnover rose 5.7 percent. A rise in passenger traffic from Liverpool to Dublin, and the amount of fruit handled at the Sheerness port, near London, boosted earnings. Mersey Docks Chairman Gordon Waddell and CEO Trevor Furlong have both advocated the consolidation of Britain's port industry, and Waddell said Mersey Docks would benefit from any consolidation due to its strong cash flow.