Tallink Grupp commercial revenues slip amid challenging 2024

ESTONIA. Leading Baltic Sea cruise ferry company Tallink Grupp today reported full-year results, with shop and restaurant sales falling by just under -4% year-on-year to €376 million in 2024. Retail traditionally accounts for around three-quarters of the combined shopping and dining business.

Across the full year, Tallink and its subsidiaries served almost 5.6 million passengers, down by -2.2% compared to 2023. Around half of all passengers were from Finland, with one-quarter from Estonia and under 10% from Sweden.

Group revenue overall reached €785.8 million, down by -5.9% year-on-year, while net profit almost halved to €40.3 million.

Commenting, Tallink Grupp said: “Demand continued to be affected by low consumer and business confidence levels, the economic challenges in the group’s core markets and global geopolitical tensions.”

CEO Paavo Nõgene said: “The past few years have been challenging for the tourism and transport sector, and 2024 was no exception. We focused primarily on cost control, the successful operation of our main routes, and flexible opportunities to generate additional revenue. Considering the difficult economic environment across all our home markets, and the lowest consumer confidence levels in a decade, last year’s results were still satisfactory.”

As of the end of the financial year, the group operated 14 vessels. Three vessels were chartered out during the year, while two ships await deployment decisions. 

Nõgene said: “Ships must sail, not remain idle—long-term docked vessels only generate costs for the company. A volatile economic environment challenges us to be more flexible and implement new business models.

“This year, we will closely monitor the performance of our main routes and seek chartering opportunities for vessels not currently in use on these routes. In this context, we are pleased that the Tallinn-Helsinki route has seen strong recovery following the crisis years. We are also optimistic about growth on the Paldiski-Kapellskär route, where the return of the Star I ferry has significantly improved the travel experience for car passengers. Additionally, we remain hopeful that the number of Swedish travellers on the Baltic Sea will start increasing again.”

In Q4, shop and restaurant sales slipped by -3.9% to €93.4 million. Read More