Estonian transport company Tallink Grupp has published its passenger and cargo statistics for the fourth quarter and December 2025 to the stock exchange.
Compared to the same period in 2024, passenger numbers decreased by 0.3 per cent. During the holiday season in December, passenger numbers grew by 0.2 per cent.
The company said that, for the year as a whole, results stabilised at the level of 2024.
"2025 was full of challenges, ranging from the generally unfavorable economic climate in the region to weak consumer confidence," said Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Grupp.
"Our results are particularly affected by the situation in our largest market, Finland. Taking all these factors into account, the outcome for 2025 was satisfactory with reservations."
Nõgene added that internal decisions helped the company adapt flexibly to the situation.
"The sale of three vessels has optimized our cost base, some ships have been chartered out, and we have remained a reliable dividend stock for investors."
Across all routes, Tallink carried a total of 5,531,132 passengers in 2025, which is 0.9 per cent fewer than in 2024.
Compared to 2024, passenger numbers increased by 1.8 per cent on the Finland–Estonia route, but decreased by 2.4 per cent on the Finland–Sweden routes. On the Estonia–Sweden routes, passenger numbers declined by 12.5 per cent; the decrease is due to the fact that two vessels operated on the route during the summer of 2024.
The total number of cargo units was 245,004, a decrease of 19.2 per cent compared to the previous year.
Cargo volumes declined across all company routes in 2025, most notably on the Finland–Sweden routes (22.8 per cent) and the Estonia–Finland route (20 per cent). On the Estonia–Sweden route, the decrease was 11.5 per cent.
"In terms of cargo transport, it should be noted that the decline has gradually eased compared to the early months of 2025," Nõgene remarked. "This may be a sign of recovery in our home markets."
For 2026, Tallink has set the goal of maintaining its market position and increasing revenues.
"Enhancing the sustainability of all routes and improving the company’s profitability is an ambitious task, but we are ready for it," said Nõgene. "Although some economic recovery is expected, the lack of state support for the shipping sector in Estonia makes the situation more difficult compared to neighbouring countries.
"We also need to account for the full volume of CO2 quotas, which we are required to purchase starting this year. On the other hand, our shuttle vessels are expected to fully transition to biomethane fuel, which is environmentally friendly and helps reduce emission costs."
