In the third quarter (1 July - 30 September) of the 2016 financial year AS Tallink Grupp and its subsidiaries’ (the Group) carried 2.9 million passengers which is 5.7% more compared to the third quarter last year, Tallink Grupp says in a press release. The number of cargo units transported increased by 6.7% and the number of passenger vehicles transported increased by 6.2% compared to same period last year.
The Group’s unaudited consolidated revenue for the third quarter was EUR 273.5 million, which is on the same level with the third quarter last year. The Group’s unaudited EBITDA for the third quarter amounted to EUR 67.1 million compared to EUR 76.8 million last year and unaudited net profit was EUR 42.8 million compared to EUR 45.2 million in same period last year.
In the third quarter, the revenue increased in all Group’s operated routes. The revenue growth of core operations from onboard and ticket sale was supported by the larger number of passengers travelling with the Group’s operated ships. The revenue from chartering of ships is visibly lower as there were fewer ships chartered out compared to third quarter last year. The Group’s operating result is lower compared to same period last year mainly due to lower result from chartering and cost of charter of the fast ferry Superstar.
The new LNG fast ferry Megastar was christened and launched in July 2016. The construction is proceeding according to the schedule and the interior works of the ship have started. The new LNG fast ferry Megastar will be delivered to the Group in January 2017 and the vessel will start to operate the Shuttle service on Tallinn-Helsinki route. At the same time, the Group has initiated number of marketing activities to introduce the new vessel and its qualities to main markets, more info on projecthttp://megastar.tallink.com/.
In expectation of the new LNG fast ferry Megastar to the market next year, the Group operated the cruise ferry Silja Europa on Tallinn-Helsinki route day cruise service in 2016 third quarter July and August. This operational change has enabled the Group to increase its market share on the route by 2% to 58%, compared to same period last year. The Estonia-Finland route’s third quarter revenue increased by 7.0%, the increase is driven mainly by growth in the passenger number and cargo volume from the added capacity, compared to last year. The Estonia-Finland segment result for the third quarter was lower compared to the same period last year due to the cost of charter of the fast ferry Superstar.
The Finland-Sweden routes third quarter revenue increased by 0.9%, compared to same period last year. The revenue growth was supported by the higher passenger number on the routes. The Group’s Finland-Sweden routes market share increased in the third quarter by 2% to 54%. The number of cargo units transported on Finland-Sweden routes increased by 5.2% compared to same period last year. The segment result for the third quarter is slightly lower due to higher marketing and operating costs.
Similarly to previous quarters of 2016, the Estonia-Sweden and Latvia-Sweden routes positive development continues, the routes revenue growth was driven mainly by higher ticket revenue and on-board sales. The Estonia-Sweden routes revenue increased by 2.5% and segment result improved by 10.9% or EUR 0.7 million. The Latvia-Sweden route revenue increased by 3.2% and segment result improved by 10.9% or EUR 0.4 million compared to third quarter last year.
In the third quarter the Group’s total ticket revenue increased by 5.4% or EUR 4.3 million and restaurants and shop sales increased by 4.0% or EUR 5.7 million, compared to the same period last year. The sales growth is supported mainly by the higher number of passengers travelling with the Group’s operated ships.
The revenue from chartering activities has reduced in total by EUR 7.3 million in the third quarter due to fewer ships are chartered out, compared to the same period last year.
In the third quarter of the 2016 financial year the Group’s gross profit decreased by EUR 8.0 million and amounted to EUR 76.8 million, compared to the same period last year, EBITDA decreased by EUR 9.7 million to the total of EUR 67.1 million. The third quarter profitability was impacted by less revenue from chartering, higher marketing costs, cost of charter of the fast ferry Superstar and higher ships operating costs.
In the third quarter the Group’s net debt decreased by EUR 8.3 million to a total of EUR 457.9 million and the net debt to EBITDA ratio was a solid 3.1 at the end of third quarter. The third quarter interest cost was EUR 1.4 million lower compared to same period last year from regular repayment of loans and also repayment of loans related to sale of ships. Combined with gain from revaluation of cross currency and interest derivatives, the total finance costs decreased by EUR 4.2 million compared to the third quarter last year.
The unaudited net profit for the third quarter of the 2016 financial year was EUR 42.8 million or EUR 0.064 per share compared to the net profit of EUR 45.2 million or EUR 0.067 per share in the same period last year.
In June 2016 the shareholders annual general meeting decided to pay a dividend of EUR 0.02 per share from financial year 2015 profits. The total dividend amount of EUR 13.4 million was paid out on 05 July 2016 (third quarter). In addition to dividend payment the annual general meeting decided the share capital reduction in amount of EUR 40.2 million or EUR 0.06 per share. According to the procedures set out in Commercial Code the share capital reduction payments to the shareholders will be made on 23 December 2016.
The total liquidity, cash and unused credit facilities, at the end of the third quarter was EUR 116.3 million providing a strong financial position for sustainable operations. The Group had EUR 88.8 million in cash and equivalents and the total of unused credit lines were at EUR 27.5 million.