Orkney Ferries Limited
Registered name: ORKNEY FERRIES LIMITED
Part of Orkney Islands Council groupOrkney Ferries Limited made £3.4m revenue and a £724k loss in the year to 31 Mar 2025.
Orkney Ferries Limited’s revenue grew 19% to £3.4m in the year to 31 Mar 2025, with a loss of £724k and 198 employees. The company is classified under “sea and coastal passenger water transport” and is based in Orkney; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Orkney, Scotland
- Age
- 65 yrs · since 1961
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Part of a group. The filing indicates this company sits within a group structure, so its results may depend on intra-group trading and it may be hard to replicate independently.
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 31 Mar 2023 | 31 Mar 2024 | 31 Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | |||
| Revenue (turnover) | £2.7m | £2.9m | £3.4m |
| Cost of sales | £15.4m | £16.4m | £17.4m |
| Gross profit | −£12.8m | −£13.6m | −£14m |
| Operating profit | −£915k | −£88k | −£752k |
| Profit before tax | −£902k | −£43.5k | — |
| Profit after tax | −£902k | −£43.5k | −£724k |
| Profit (best available) | −£902k | −£43.5k | −£724k |
| Staff costs | £7.2m | £8m | £8.5m |
| Employees (average) | 187 | 202 | 198 |
| Ratios | |||
| Profit margin | −33.8% | −1.5% | −21.3% |
| Gross margin | −478% | −473% | −410.3% |
| Revenue per employee | £14.3k | £14.2k | £17.2k |
| Profit per employee | −£4.8k | −£215 | −£3.7k |
| Growth (year on year) | |||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲7.5% | ▲18.6% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲8% | ▼2% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | |||
| Cash at bank | £1m | £821k | £546k |
| Net assets | £6.5m | £7.4m | £8.9m |
| Fixed assets | £52.5k | £174k | £304k |
| Current assets | £1.7m | £9.4m | £15.6m |
| Debtors | £162k | £165k | £132k |
| Cash from operations | £1.4m | £131k | £5m |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Nov 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −21.3%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- −410.3%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £17.2k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£3.7k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 8.9%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- —
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 3.9%
- Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.
Balance-sheet signals
Year-on-year changes in filed balance-sheet items. They can hint at momentum (or investment) but are not revenue or profit and must not be read as such.
- Net assets
- ▲20%
- Now £8.9m
- Cash at bank
- ▼33%
- Now £546k
- Headcount
- ▼2%
- Now 198
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- ▲75%
- Now £304k
Group structure
Ownership chain
- Orkney Islands Council (registered outside the UK register)ultimate parent75–100%
- Orkney Ferries Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Mar 2025 (profit −£724k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Nov 2025. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.