IT'S plain sailing for Western Ferries as the firm reports a rise in pre-tax profits to almost £3m.

In its latest full-year accounts, the company - which operates the busy Gourock to Dunoon car and passenger ferry service - saw its pre-tax profits increase from £2.3m to £2.7m.

Revenue reached £8.5m, up half a million pounds from 2017/18, while the company's operational expenses rose from £5.7m to £5.8m.

According to Western's accounts for the year ending March 31 2019, the company provided almost 32,500 sailings.

Only 56 were cancelled and around 400 additional sailings were provided to meet peak demand, making it the highest level of frequency for any route in Scotland.

Managing director Gordon Ross said: “Once again we have delivered a near 100 per cent reliable service to our customers, by far the best in Scotland.

"We have continued the process of investing in new ferries and our terminals, which better ensure the resilience of Western Ferries’ service."

The operator continued to provide blue light out-of-hours sailings to transfer emergency patients from Cowal to hospitals in Inverclyde and Glasgow, at no cost to the NHS.

The company said its buoyant results are due to the 'overall resilience of its services, the hard work and professionalism of its workforce and the fine weather during the summer of 2018'.

It also highlighted the fuel efficiency of its new vessels – Sound of Soay, Sound of Seil, Sound of Shuna and Sound of Scarba – saying this makes them one of the most environmentally friendly operations in the country.

Mr Ross added: "Our environmental record is a source of great pride to the team at Western Ferries.”

The financial year saw the completion of the replacement second berth at the terminal at McInroy’s Point in Gourock, and a £3.5 million investment in the replacement second berth at Hunter’s Quay Dunoon was brought into service in August 2019.

The company is currently building a new head office at Hunter’s Quay and hopes this will coincide with new shore, vessel and online ticketing.

At the end of Western's current programme of capital improvement, almost £30 million will have been reinvested back into the service over the last 12 years.