zoomImage Courtesy: Viking Line

Finnish shipping company Viking Line saw its income after taxes drop to EUR 5.3 million in 2017 from EUR 8 million reported in the previous year.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the company’s consolidated sales increased to EUR 522.7 million from EUR 519.6 million reported a year earlier, while operating income totalled EUR 10 million, decreasing from EUR 13.7 million.

Viking Line said that competition in its service area entails continued pressure on prices and volumes, which will have an adverse effect on net sales revenue per passenger. Bunker prices are also expected to be higher than in 2017.

During the spring of 2018, a change in the organizational structure will be implemented, with the objective of focusing on results and commercial matters while simplifying both the group’s way of working and organization.

This change is expected to have a positive effect on the group’s results. The Board of Directors’ assessment is that operating income will be higher overall in 2018 than in 2017.

Viking Line decreased its market share on the Turku (Finland)–Mariehamn/Långnäs (Åland Islands, Finland)–Stockholm (Sweden) route by 0.3 percentage points to 54.5 per cent. On the Helsinki–Mariehamn–Stockholm route, market share increased by 0.8 percentage points to 43.6 per cent.

In cruise services between Stockholm and Mariehamn, market share was up by 0.9 percentage points to 58.2 per cent. On the Helsinki–Tallinn route, market share increased by 2.9 percentage points to 26.1 per cent.

On the short route over the Sea of Åland, market share increased by 1.6 percentage points to 43.5 per cent. The group thus had a total market share in its service area of 34.5 per cent.