Eurotunnel sees fall in revenues

Eurotunnel has been hit a fall in passenger levels.

Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel has seen three-month revenues fall almost a quarter, partly due to the knock-on impact of September's tunnel fire.

Revenues for October to December 2008 were 129m euros ($171m; �116m), down 24% from a year earlier.

The decline came after Eurotunnel saw a 37% fall in the number of cars using the service, and a 45% drop in lorries.

A spokesman said the impact of the fire had been a major factor, and that services remained at half capacity.

However, he added that the general economic downturn was another significant cause.

Eurotunnel is aiming to regain full capacity through the tunnel by mid-February.

Revenues for 2008 as a whole were down 2%, with the number of cars using the service falling 11% for the year.

'Slight decrease'

Paris-based Eurotunnel said passenger numbers at separate company Eurostar were down very slightly during the last quarter of 2008, totalling 2.110 million compared with 2.117 million a year earlier.

Eurostar operates the passenger train services between London St Pancras and Paris and Brussels, paying Eurotunnel a levy per passenger.

"Despite the reduced capacity of the last four months, Eurotunnel has succeeded in recording only a very slight decrease in its revenues," said Eurotunnel chairman and chief executive Jacques Gounon.

A successful financial restructuring deal in 2007 saw Eurotunnel more than halve its debts to about �3.1bn.

This was followed in May of last year by a share issue that raised 641m euros.

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