TALLINN - Half-year results from AS Tallinna Sadam, which runs the Port of Tallinn, for the first six months of 2008 amounted to EEK 252.6 million (EUR 16.1 million), an increase of net profit by EEK 23 million (EUR 1.5 million) or 10 % compared with the same period a year earlier.
However, sales decreased by 5.7% to EEK 615.4 million and cargo volume passing through the ports decreased by 7 million tonnes (or 32%), reaching 14.8 million tonnes.
After a steep drop in May 2007, when many Russian transit goods were withdrawn following the 'bronze soldier' riots, the volume of transit goods has stabilised at a similar level. Some growth was recorded for container units and rolling stock volumes, but their positive impact on change of total cargo volume remained "insignificant" according to official company comments released via the Tallinn Stock Exchange.Market share of AS Tallinna Sadam among the major ports of the eastern Baltic decreased, too, from 11.8% to 8%.
In contrast, after decreases during the two previous years, the number of passengers increased to record levels. In the first half-year, 3.3 million passengers travelled through the ports controlled by AS Tallinna Sadam - 15% more than in the same period a year ago.
The major Tallinn-Helsinki line saw the growth of passengers by 351,000 or 14%, totalling 2.8 million passengers. The number of passengers on the Tallinn-Stockholm line grew by 64,000 thousand or by 21%, totalling 371,000.
