Finnlines Boosts Profit in Second Quarter

Finnish ro/ro and ro/pax ferry operator Finnlines Group recorded EUR 15.8 million net profit for the quarter ended June 30, a 7.3 percent increase compared to EUR 14.7m net profit in 2QFY2014, despite an EUR 8.1 million dip in revenue year-on-year.

The Finnlines Group recorded revenue totalling EUR 135.2 (143.3) million, a decrease of 5.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2014.

Shipping and Sea Transport Services generated revenue amounting to EUR 130.2 (139.1) million and port operations EUR 9.7 (10.2) million.

The revenue slide was partly attributed to the reduction of cargo-related bunker surcharge, vessel maintenance, retrofits and tonnage adjustment.

”We have been able to adjust our operations to be more cost efficient and therefore more competitive in current recessionary business environment prevailing in Finland. Moreover, Finnlines is focusing on strengthening its long-term strategic position by acquiring three vessels and further investing in environmental technology,” said Emanuele Grimaldi, President and CEO of Finnlines Group.

”We will complete our EUR 100 million Environmental Technology Investment Programme by installing scrubbers to remaining vessels and also by investing to re-blade and silicon-paint hulls of several of our vessels for better fuel economy. We expect our profitability to improve over the previous year due to successful implementation of our Investment Programme which enables us to use cheaper IFO fuel compared to more expensive MGO and due to successful implementation of our Turnaround Programme which improves our operational efficiency.”

Finnlines is part of the Italian Grimaldi Group, which is a global logistics group specialising in maritime transport of cars, rolling cargo, containers and passengers.

The company’s passenger-freight vessels offer services from Finland to Germany and via the Åland Islands to Sweden, as well as from Sweden to Germany. Finnlines’ ro-ro vessels operate in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.

Based on the statistics by the Finnish Transport Agency for January-May, the Finnish seaborne imports carried in container, lorry and trailer units decreased by 6 per cent whereas exports increased by 1 per cent (measured in tons) compared to the same period in 2014. Private and commercial passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden remained at the same level as in 2014. Between Finland and Germany the corresponding traffic decreased by 2 per cent.