Mersey Docks 2004 Profit Rose 16% After Shipping Volumes Gained

Mersey Docks & Harbour Co., the U.K. port operator which may be bought by Peel Holdings Ltd., said full- year profit rose 16 percent as shipping and ports volume increased. Net income rose to 41.3 million pounds ($79.1 million), or 52.9 pence a share, from 35.7 million pounds, or 43.7 pence, a year earlier, the Liverpool, England-based company said in a Regulatory News Service statement today. Revenue increased 6.9 percent to 341.5 million pounds.