Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö (Eckerö Group) achieved its highest operating profit during 2025, driven by record-high cargo and passenger volumes across its Baltic Sea routes. The company reported that its operating profit improved by €3.2 million ($3.5 million) to reach €25.6 million for the full year.
Annual cargo volumes rose 11 per cent to 210,598 units, which the shipping group identified as the highest annual volume ever recorded for the business. A total of 3,191,322 passengers travelled on the company's vessels during the year, representing an increase of two per cent compared to 2024.
Revenue for the financial year increased by five per cent to €234.8 million. The company reported a net profit of €18.8 million, noting that the figure represents the second-best annual result in its history.
On the route between Finland and Estonia, the cargo market share climbed to 46 per cent from 40 per cent in the previous year. The company estimated its passenger market share between Åland and Sweden at more than four-fifths of the total travel market.
Structural changes during the period included the acquisition of Rederi Fjärdvägen in August, which was subsequently renamed Eckerö Link. The company also purchased the vessel Sailor from a subsidiary of Tallink Group on October 31.
The ship was renamed Fjärdvägen and replaced a previous vessel of the same name on the Långnäs–Nådendal route on January 2. Eckerö stated the replaced vessel has been withdrawn from service and is currently held for sale.
The group completed the sale of the Ro-Ro vessel Transporter on November 19, which generated a pre-tax profit effect of €3.4 million.
A comprehensive refinancing was completed in October to optimise the capital structure and reduce interest-bearing debt. The company reported securing €29 million in new financing to repurchase and cancel the remaining portion of its bond loan on October 28.
Net debt was recorded at negative €19 million by December 31, meaning the company's cash positions exceeded its total interest-bearing liabilities. This compared to a net debt of negative €6.8 million at the end of the previous year.
The company stated it is expected to deliver a continued stable result in 2026 despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. It added that a post-audit of pandemic-related traffic support from the years 2020 to 2022 could have a negative impact on future results.