Montenegrin ferry owner Barska Plovidba has posted higher earnings for the second quarter as costs dropped.
Net profit was EUR 2.5m ($2.97m) to 30 June, according to the Poslovni Dnevnik daily.
This is a fourfold increase from the same period of last year.
Costs fell 29% to around EUR 3m, while revenue dropped 1.7 times to EUR 2.8m year-on-year.
Total asset values declined 3% to EUR 44m.
The owner is planning to open talks over a newbuilding in China.
It wants a new ro-pax to run between Bar and the Italian port of Bari.
TradeWinds has reported Barska was aiming to buy a ropax ferry before the end of the year to replace a ferry it has been forced to sell for scrap because it no longer meets required class standards.
The 8,700-gt Sveti Stefan II (built 1973) served as a vital transport link between Montenegro and Italy until last December when Bureau Veritas pulled its classification certificates.
