Viking Line has reported a healthier set of figures for the first six months of the year with a net profit of EUR 3.6m ($4m).
Sales for the interim period rose just over 4% to EUR 131.1m, while costs were largely unchanged at EUR 125.7m.
Passenger-related revenue was unchanged from a year ago at EUR 201.7m, while cargo revenue was up almost 5% to EUR 24m.
The number of passengers on Viking Line’s vessels during the first half of 2019 was down 2.5% to 2.7m, giving it a local market share of around 31.4%.
Cargo volume was also up 5% to 69,030 cargo units, while the number of cars transported inched up 1.7% to 300,543 units.
“Competition in Viking Line’s service area entails continued pressure on prices and volumes, which will have an adverse effect on net sales revenue per passenger,” it said.
“Overall, operating income for 2019 is expected to remain on a par with operating income for 2018 or improve.
“At this stage, however, this forecast can be affected by the uncertainty factors mentioned above.”
Looking ahead, Viking said: “Income during the third quarter will be crucial to the group’s earnings for the full financial year.”
Viking Line provides passenger and cargo carrier services using seven vessels on the northern Baltic Sea.
