The Estonian state-owned railway company EVR Cargo has achieved profitability in the course of its current activities in the fourth quarter of this year. Net profit for the last two months – October and November – amounted to 719 thousand euros. However, due to the low volume of freight traffic during the three previous quarters of this year and the delayed decision on a railcar rental business, the overall annual result will still be unprofitable.
“The growth of customer confidence in the high quality of transportation services and the increase in the volume of commodity shipments helped to achieve profitability in the course of the company’s current operations. The increase in profits from railcar rentals has also influenced greatly the profitability of the enterprise. A railcar rental and leasing business is a part of the strategy of EVR Cargo, according to which we are moving along the path of independent development of various business areas,” said Mr. Raul Toomsalu, Chairman of the Management Board of EVR Cargo.
“This year we made an important investment in a new rolling stock that will support the railcar rental and leasing business sphere in the future. We had hoped to show a positive commercial result this year, but the volume of transported goods decreased, and – as a result of various collateral circumstances, unfortunately, the hiring out of our railcars was delayed for several months,” commented Mr. Raul Toomsalu, Chairman of the Management Board of EVR Cargo.
The financial flow and balance figures of EVR Cargo remain strong, allowing to invest in attractive commercial projects. The EBITDA margin for the 11 months of 2017 was 4 749 000 euros. Several projects are awaiting implementation.
EVR Cargo is the leading Estonian railway company whose main business activities are the transportation of goods, the locomotive and railcar repair and construction, as well as the railcar rental and leasing services. The company employs 650 people.