Viking Line Q1 Characterized by Ship Dockings and a Challenging Market Environment

April 25, 2025

Financial Highlights (Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024)

  • Sales: €87.3M (↓ 6.3% from €93.2M)
  • Operating income: €-18.0M (vs €-10.4M)
  • Income before taxes: €-22.0M (vs €-14.2M)
  • Net income: €-22.1M (vs €-14.3M)
  • Investments: €9.0M (mainly in GABRIELLA and VIKING XPRS)
  • Cash flow from operations: €-10.0M (vs €+1.3M)

Market & Operations

  • Passenger volumes: 767,353 (↓ from 871,828)
  • Cargo units: 36,352 (↑ from 32,993)
  • Passenger market share: 31.2% (↓ from 34.6%)
  • Cargo market share: 20.5% (↑ from 17.4%)
  • Passenger cars market share: 26.0% (↓ from 29.9%)

Fleet Activity

  • GABRIELLA docked (technical work)
  • VIKING XPRS docked (refurbishment and shop rebuild)
  • BIRKA GOTLAND had a planned traffic break
  • VIKING CINDERELLA temporarily operated on Helsinki–Tallinn route during XPRS docking

CEO Insights – Jan Hanses

  • Results aligned with expectations but weaker than Q1 2024
  • Two dockings negatively affected performance
  • Passenger demand still soft, but onboard consumption slightly stronger
  • Increased costs due to:
    • Finnish fairway fees (reversal of previous discount)
    • Emissions Trading System (ETS) now at 70% implementation
    • General cost pressure from maintenance, emissions, and fairway fees
    • Positive outlook expected toward the end of Q2

Financial & Investment Notes

  • Debt fully repaid for VIKING GRACE
  • Cash reserves down to €26.0M (vs €65.7M in Q1 2024)
  • Unutilised credit lines: €22.1M
  • Debt/equity ratio: 52.5% (vs 50.1%)

Key Risk Factors

  • Continued economic uncertainty in core traffic area
  • Geopolitical tensions affecting energy and transport markets
  • Unclear long-term trade prospects
  • Ongoing pandemic-era support repayments: €1.1M provision booked

Outlook

  • 2025 result before taxes expected to be in line with 2024
  • Uncertainty remains high due to external factors (economy, fuel prices, demand)