Estonian shipper Tallink trims loss by 7.5 pct in Q1

Photo: Mati Hiis / Õhtuleht

 Net loss of the listed Estonian shipper Tallink Grupp in the first quarter of the year was 17.525 million euros, 7.5 percent less than the year-earlier 18.951 million euros.

The group's consolidated revenue was 190.6 million euros, representing a year-on-year decrease of 1.7 percent, the company said in a stock exchange disclosure. Loss per share was 0.03 euros in the first quarter of both this and the previous year.

The results of the group during the low season quarter were influenced by the fact that several vessels underwent scheduled maintenance resulting in fewer voyages and lower passenger and cargo volumes compared to the previous years when typically fewer vessels were out of service, the company said.

In addition, the cruise ferries Silja Europa and Baltic Princess changed their operating routes resulting temporarily in fewer trips. Based on an earlier decision, the Baltic Princess was rerouted to the Turku-Stockholm route at the beginning of February and the larger cruise ferry Silja Europa to the Tallinn-Helsinki route at the end of January. The change of vessels will improve cost efficiency which will have a positive effect on the group's result, Tallink Grupp said.

Ships of the company made 3.5 percent fewer trips in the first quarter of this year than the year before and the rerouting of the Silja Europa and Baltic Princess caused an one-off expense of approximately one million euros.

Positive development continued on the Latvia-Sweden route where revenue increased by nearly 18 percent, driven by an 8 percent growth in passenger numbers and increase in revenue per passenger.

Tallink Grupp carried in the first quarter a total of 1.9 million passengers, which is 4.5 percent less than during the same period of the previous year. Average ticket revenue per passenger grew by 11 percent year-on-year, resulting in a 6 percent increase in total ticket revenue, despite the lower passenger volumes.

Gross profit of the group was 16.2 million euros and EBITDA seven million euros, respectively 2.6 million euros and 3.2 million euros less than the year before.

At the end of the quarter Tallink Grupp had 83.4 million euros in cash and equivalents and its unused credit lines totaled 7.3 million euros. The total liquidity, cash and unused credit facilities amounted to 90.7 million euros, providing a strong position for sustainable operations, the company said.