Tallink Grupp publishes 2021 first quarter financial results
Tallink Grupp has announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2021. In the quarter the company’s unaudited net loss amounted to EUR 34.4 million (net loss of EUR 30.2 million in Q1 2020). The group’s unaudited consolidated revenue was EUR 53.7 million, which is a 65.3% or EUR 101.2 million decrease compared to the same period in 2020. At the same time, the group’s unaudited EBITDA was not considerably worse than in 2020, amounting to EUR -6.3 million (EUR -1.3 million in Q1 2020).
The group’s investments in the first quarter of 2021 were significantly lower than those in the same period in 2020 and amounted to EUR 4.2 million. Due to the changed economic environment and suspension of vessel operations, ship-related investments were kept to minimum and only critical maintenance and repair works were performed. Major investments were all carried out in 2020, so the company expects the level of investments required for the rest of 2021 to remain low.
Compared to the same period in 2020, the company’s workforce had reduced to just over 3,900 employees in Q1 in 2021. Significant reductions in personnel related costs were already evident in Q1 2021 and the company expects to further feel the impact of the difficult decisions made in 2020 throughout the year.
The company continues to maintain a strong liquidity buffer of EUR 96.4 million, combined in cash and unused credit lines. In addition, the company also has EUR 90.0 million of undrawn part of a working capital loan from Nordic Investment Bank.
Commenting on the first quarter results, Tallink Grupp’s CEO Paavo Nõgene said: “We knew this was going to be a tough quarter when the virus situation showed signs of worsening and it was clear that new travel restrictions would be imposed and existing travel restrictions would continue. In Q1 2020 we had at least had two months of more or less normal operations, whereas this year all three first months of the year have meant operating within tight restrictions and limits.
“Like everyone in the travel and international transport sectors, we are continuing with extreme levels of flexibility and creativity, keeping all costs under tight control, seeking alternative revenue sources, revising short-term and long-term plans on a weekly basis and planning scenarios A, B and C. At the same time, we are, looking forward to our governments and authorities and EU institutions to make some headway with vaccinations, vaccination passports and other steps that will enable and ease travelling at least within Europe as soon as possible.
“Despite the significant drop in our revenue in the first quarter this year, I am pleased that we have managed to avoid as significant a decline in our EBITDA and this, of course, is the result of our significant efforts in cost control, increasing efficiencies and also the various support measures we have been able to utilise. In comparison with the Q1 of a normal operating year 2019, our revenue decreased by EUR 152 million, but the total impact on our EBITDA was roughly EUR -10 million. So, we are grateful to our governments and all our employees for the support and effort in helping us keep our nose above water during this difficult time.
“I am personally very pleased to see that the number of Tallink Grupp’s shareholders has continued to grow in these challenging times, reaching a total of 25702 shareholders to date. To me this is a clear sign of our shareholders’ faith and trust in us and the steps we continue to take to secure the sustainability of our business, and we plan to do everything in our power to offer our shareholders a good dividend yield again in the future.
“We sincerely hope that we are able to implement at least some scenarios we have prepared for the summer this year in the near future and thus ensure that the results for the next quarters of 2021 will start to show better results. The team here at Tallink Grupp is certainly ready and motivated to make it happen.”
AS Tallink Grupp is one of the leading providers of passenger transport and cargo transport services in the northern part of the Baltic Sea region. The company owns 15 vessels and operates a number of ferry routes on the Baltic Sea under the brand names of Tallink and Silja Line. AS Tallink Grupp employs around 4000 people in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia and Germany. In 2020, the year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Tallink Grupp provided services to 3.7 million travellers and transported nearly 360 000 units of cargo. The shares of Tallink Grupp are listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange.
