Emanuele Grimaldi, President and CEO, in conjunction with the review:
“The Finnlines Group’s revenue for January–March 2020 was almost on previous year’s level and was EUR 130.5 million compared to EUR 137.6 million in the corresponding period 2019. The result for the reporting period was EUR 20.7 million compared to EUR 16.2 million in corresponding period last year, but operationally the quarter ended in difficult conditions, when the spread of Covid-19 started to affect in Finland and elsewhere in Europe. The coronavirus situation has had a strong impact on passenger transport and travel in Europe, but also business environment is characterised with the measures taken by companies to prevent the spread, which has slowed down the growth globally. Finnlines is not immune to this slowdown in global trade and we also need to mitigate the Covid-19 impact. Thus, we have taken steps to lower costs and have implemented cost-saving plan.
Approximately 90% of Finland’s export and 80% of import are transported via seaways, thus Finnlines ensures for its own part, that even in this exceptional situation we are facing today, our vessels run and perform their duties as usual. Finnlines has a vital role in transporting medicine, food supplies and other consumer goods, which are essential for Finnish people and industry.
Governments across Europe have promised various emergency measures to shipping companies. This can lead to very unfair competition. Any financial aid has to be provided in accordance with existing rules, and that individual companies should not be singled out for support at the expense of more robust rivals. Any aid, either from governmental or from security of supply agencies, should be available to all shipping companies, regardless of their financial strength, in order to avoid distorting the marketplace and risking antitrust complaints. If the state intervenes, it has to intervene in a such way that it does not create unfair competition.
During the first quarter, we transported 186,000 cargo units, shipped 41,000 cars (not including passengers’ cars) and carried 121,000 passengers. This shows that Finnlines is clearly an important service provider to Finland’s economy. It has in recent weeks become evident that carriers, such as Finnlines, provide a lifeline for both the private and the public sector in the country.
Finnlines’ vessels enable the smooth operation of logistic chains and, therefore, Finland’s economy can retain its ability to function under the distressed conditions. We are proud that Finnlines’ services in the Baltic and North Sea areas provide a backbone in transporting all the necessary goods to Finnish society. We can guarantee services while providing maximum safety standards and complying to the requirements authorities set us.
We have steered large investments advancing sustainable development, most recently, we have placed an order for two green ro-pax newbuildings and the construction work of the three ro-ro vessels has started. These investments into ultra green generation vessels total EUR 0.5 billion. We invest in long-term, in sustainable operations and for our customers’ future growth. This is our responsible, green strategy, where we are the forerunner and for which we are very proud of, needless to say, this is what all operators should aim for."
