Operail’s wagon business grew by a fifth
Operail, having recently started a new freight transport business in Finland, has managed to grow its wagon rental revenue by more than a fifth, compensating the decrease caused by a decline in Estonian freight volumes.
“Operail and our subsidiaries Operail Leasing and Operail Leasing Finland have given more than 2,400 wagons on lease for servicing international freight transport. In the first nine months of this year, we have increased the income from wagon rental by more than a fifth and we expect a continued growth in this business area,” said Raul Toomsalu, Chairman of the Management Board of Operail.
Operail’s operating revenue for the first nine months of 2020 amounted to 48 million euros, which was 13% less than in the same period of the previous year. While income from freight transport decreased by 21%, dropping to 26.5 million euros, income from wagon rental increased by 21% from the same period of the previous year, amounting to 11.3 million euros.
In the third quarter of the year, Operail paid 9.5 million euros worth of dividends to its owner and income tax which amounted to 2.3 million euros. As a result, the company’s net profit for the nine months was 1.5 million euros (7.8 million euros in the preceding year). EBITDA amounted to 10.7 million euros in the third quarter of 2020.
The company’s freight volume in the first nine months of the year was 8.3 million tonnes. Across cargo groups, fertilisers and chemical products are on the rise and oil shale and mineral fuels are in a decline.
Operail is an Estonian state-owned railway company whose main lines of business are freight transport, repair and construction of locomotives and wagons, and rolling stock rental. The company employs almost 600 people. In addition to the parent company (AS Operail), the Operail Group also includes the wagon rental companies AS Operail Leasing and Operail Leasing Finland Oy and the Finnish railway transport company Operail Finland Oy.
Photo author: Romet Liivamägi