Tallink turns profitable again in 2023

Text Matk Taylor
Photo AS Tallink Grupp

The Tallink Group, which operates ferries between Estonia, Finland and Sweden, as well as some on-land businesses including hotels and restaurants, has announced profits for both the second quarter of 2023 and the first half of this year. This improves on losses experienced last year and during the pandemic. These profits coming despite lower passenger and freight numbers.

Tallink transported a total of 1,541,081 million passengers during the second quarter of 2023, which was 0.7 percent less than in the same period last year (1,552,174 passengers in Q2 2022). The company also transported 22 percent fewer freight units in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. However, despite lower passenger and freight numbers, the company’s turnover increased by 11.5 percent year-on-year to 229.7 million euros (206.0 million euros in 2022/Q2), leading to a net profit of 33.4 million euros (671,000 euros net loss 2022/Q2) in the second quarter of 2023.

During the first half of the year 2023, the company’s seven vessels in use (in addition to the company’s two cargo ships) carried a total of 2,590,858 passengers, which was 14 percent more than in the first half of last year (2,272,435 passengers).

In the first half of 2023, the number of cargo units transported was 18.6 percent lower compared to the same period last year. A total of 172,091 cargo units were transported (211,318 units in the first half of 2022). This fall being due to the company operating fewer routes than in 2022.

In the first half of 2023, the group’s turnover increased by 28.4 percent to a total of 400.9 million euros (312.2 million euros in the first half of 2022). The net profit for the first half of 2023 was EUR 28.0 million (the net loss for the first half of 2022 was EUR 40.7 million).

“The result of the first half of 2023 is proof that we have made the right decisions in recent years to speed up the recovery from the corona crisis. The positive effects of chartering out ships are undeniable, especially now, when consumers’ travel choices are still under pressure due to the increased cost of living. Our current strategy is to operate our regular routes with an optimal number of ships and to rent our other ships, which will help us in revitalising our business”, commented Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Group.

“Our goal now is to maintain profitability during the next two quarters and at the same time continue to reduce our debts accumulated during the crisis periods. The ships currently operating on our four main routes are producing good results, but there is also room for growth if passenger numbers in the wider area of our home market happen to start to rise in the next few years. The short-term plan is to continue following the same business model as in recent years, using a combination of regular traffic and ship charters, until growing demand on our current main routes or elsewhere requires additional capacity,” added Nõgene.

“We are still grateful to our customers and employees who have understood the importance of operational decisions. We also thank our loyal shareholders who did not stop believing in surviving uncertain times”, concluded Nõgene.

To learn more about this and similar topics
Ferry Freight Paavo Nõgene Passengers Profit Ship Tallink Tallink Group