OREANDA-NEWS. In the second quarter (1 April - 30 June) of the 2014 financial year AS Tallink Grupp and its subsidiaries' (the Group) carried nearly 2.4 million passengers which is 0.5% more compared to the same period last year. The number of cargo units transported decreased by 1.0% and the number of passenger vehicles transported increased by 0.7% for the same period as last year.

The Group's consolidated revenue in the second quarter was EUR 246.5 million, being 1.0% or EUR 2.6 million less than a year ago. In the second quarter of the 2014 financial year the Group's gross profit amounted to EUR 51.0 million and EBITDA to EUR 41.1 million being respectively EUR 6.0 million and EUR 5.7 million less compared to the same period last year. The decline in the Group's results is related to maintenance and upgrade works on the vessels Star, Galaxy and Baltic Princess. In the second quarter there were less trips due to ships being out of the operation when compared to the same period in the last year.

In the second quarter the Estonia-Finland route showed a slight decline with passengers numbers decreasing by 2.7%, cargo units transported increased by 6.6%, the sales numbers remained on the last year's level. The operations were affected by the shuttle vessel Star being out of operation for 68 trips in April, undergoing car deck ramp repairs, the ship was only partially replaced during that time. In the same time the competitors on the route have increased the number of departures.

In the second quarter the segment result for the Finland-Sweden segment was EUR 4.9 million lower than last year. The decline came from the Turku-Stockholm route, where revenue decreased due to the vessels Galaxy and Baltic Princess being out of operations for scheduled maintenance works and passengers' spending showing weaknesses in an overall weak macroeconomic development. Meanwhile the recently upgraded cruise ferry Silja Serenade on the Helsinki-Stockholm route has delivered positive developments. Higher customer satisfaction and on-board spending levels are confirming that the investment was successful and has a positive effect to the business in the longer run.

The amortization cost for the 2014 financial year is higher due to the new vessel Isabelle and the group has also changed the useful life estimation of some vessels. In the second quarter the amortization cost was EUR 1.8 million higher when compared to the same period in the last year.

The unaudited net profit for the second quarter of the 2014 financial year was EUR 6.1 million or EUR 0.01 per share compared to the net profit of EUR 9.3 million or EUR 0.01 per share in the same period last year.

In June 2014 the shareholders annual general meeting decided to pay a dividend of 0.03 euros per share. The total dividend amount of EUR 20.1 million was paid out in the beginning of July 2014 (third quarter).

The unstable macro-economic situation in Europe has had a negative impact to the Groups operations. In the first six months of the financial year a noticeable drop in passenger numbers from the Russian market has been observed.

Working together with ship fuel suppliers the Group is preparing for a smooth transition from 1.0% sulphur marine fuel to low sulphur marine fuel in order to meet the new 2015 sulphur emissions regulation.

The total liquidity, cash and unused credit facilities at the end of the first quarter were EUR 75.2 million providing a strong position for sustainable operations. At the end of the second quarter 2014 the Group had EUR 70.2 million in cash and equivalents and the total of unused credit lines were at EUR 5.0 million.