BLUE STAR MARITIME S.A.

PRESS RELEASE

NET PROFIT RISES BY 121%
TO €19.2 MLN IN THE NINE MONTHS TO 30TH SEPTEMBER 2005


The Board of Directors of Blue Star Maritime S.A. is pleased to report that the Company posted Consolidated Net Profit after Taxes of €19.2 mln in the nine months to 30th September, 2005 against €8.7 mln in the same period in 2004, a significant increase of 121%. Consolidated Revenue stands at €108.3 mln (€106.9 mln) increased by 1.3% while Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) stand at €34.4 mln (€26.5 mln) a 29.7% improvement. Specifically, the Group’s results for the period are:

In thousand Euro
(except sailings)

2005
2004
Change %
Sailings3,8335,196-26.2%
Revenue108,279106,917+1.3%
EBITDA 34,40126,522 +29.7%
Net Profit after Taxes19,2408,687+121.4%






The growth in the Group’s revenues (despite the decrease in sailings executed this year following the sale of four older vessels in 2004), is due to the higher capacity utilization rates achieved in Greek Domestic market as well as the redeployment of Blue Star 1 from the Piraeus – Chania route to the Patras – Igoumenitsa – Corfu – Bari route where together with Blue Horizon connects with daily departures the Greek ports of Patras and Igoumenitsa to Bari in Italy. The Group’s vessels by offering high quality and consistent services, on the Adriatic Sea, the Cycladic and Dodecanese Islands routes on a daily basis, year-round, were market favourites and in tandem with the growth in summer traffic captured large market shares. In response to market demand the Group executed many extra sailings to the Greek islands in order to facilitate the transportation of passengers and the supply of the island communities with the necessary products to meet the increased summer demand.

The factors that contributed to the great improvement of Group’s operating results and Net Profit, despite the sharp increase in the price of fuel oil were: Fleet optimization: The Group sold during 2004 four older vessels that had negative contribution to the Group’s results and focused on profitable routes. Cost containment: The Group in June 2005 issued a new secured bond for the refinancing of the Group’s debt. This contributed significantly to the decrease of financial expenses and improvement of the Group’s cash flow. Furthermore, the Group managed to keep expenses under strict control. Successful commercial policy: The Group managed to increase revenues despite the decrease in the number of vessels in operation.

It’s very important to mention that state intervention still remains the main impediment for the operation of the Greek domestic market as the regulatory framework has not yet adopted the European Regulation 3577/92. Group’s Management expects that compliance with the European Regulation will be accomplished through dialogue with the Greek State, and will allow the Greek domestic market to operate in free competition and every company to apply its own operating and commercial policies.

The Group’s fleet carried 3,023,147 passengers, 365,400 private vehicles and 93,336 freight units. Comparison with the previous year carryings is not applicable due to the reduction in fleet size and the redeployment of one vessel from the Greek domestic services to the Greece-Italy routes.

The Group’s management noting the continuous growth in the vessels’ operational efficiency, expects a further increase in the Group’s results for the full year 2005.

Voula, 15th November, 2005

The Board of Directors
For more information please contact:
Mr Dionissis Theodoratos
BLUE STAR MARITIME S.A.
Tel.: +30 210 891 9820
Fax : +30 210 891 9829
e-mail: theodoratos@bluestarferries.com