OREANDA-NEWS. In the first quarter (1 January- 31 March) of the 2014 financial year AS Tallink Grupp and its subsidiaries' (the Group) carried 1.9 million passengers which is 0.5% more compared to the same period last year. In the first quarter, which is also low season, several of the Group's vessels went through scheduled maintenance works. As a one-time effect the results were affected by the cruise ferry Silja Serenade going through extensive upgrade works. Volatility to the first quarter was added by the fact that the Easter holiday, which is a very popular travel period fell this time in to the second quarter of the 2014 financial year. Throughout the first quarter an increased amount of marketing campaigns were conducted, including the extension of gift vouchers expiration periods.

The cruise ferry Silja Serenade was out of operations in January and February for a total of 40 days undergoing an extensive upgrade of the public areas. In February the refreshed vessel Silja Serenade was launched on the Stockholm-Helsinki route. The vessel has a 50% expanded shopping area and includes upgrades to stores, the buffet and features a new restaurant. Several of the public areas received a facelift including the refurbishment of cabins and a refreshed SPA & Sauna area. The maintenance & upgrade works resulted temporary in fewer voyages and hence lower passenger and cargo volumes on Sweden-Finland routes.

In the first quarter the Estonia-Finland route continued to show positive developments with revenue increasing nearly 5.2% driven by 4.5% growth in passenger volume and 34.2% growth in cargo units. Due to the extended upgrade works the Finland-Sweden routes experienced a 6.1% decline in passenger volumes. Despite the decline in the passenger numbers the Group managed to increase the passenger market share on the Finland-Sweden route in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. The passenger volume in the first quarter for the Group in total remained on the last year's level.

The Group's consolidated revenue in the first quarter was EUR 188.2 million, being 1.2% or EUR 2.4 million less than a year ago. The average revenue per passenger decreased by 4.4%. In the first quarter of the 2014 financial year the Group's gross profit amounted to EUR 11.8 million and EBITDA to EUR 4.5 million being respectively EUR 4.5 million and EUR 2.6 million less compared to the same period last year. The decline in the Group's results is related to maintenance and upgrade works on Silja Serenade and the Easter falling into the second quarter. In the first quarter there were 31% more service days where ships were out of the operation when compared to the same period in the last year.

The unaudited net loss for the first quarter of the 2014 financial year was EUR 23.4 million or EUR 0.03 per share compared to the net loss of EUR 17.5 million or EUR 0.03 per share in the same period last year.

The total liquidity, cash and unused credit facilities at the end of the first quarter were EUR 64.1 million providing a strong position for sustainable operations. At the end of the first quarter 2014 the Group had EUR 62.6 million in cash and equivalents and the total of unused credit lines were at EUR 1.5 million.