Good afternoon, all of those who have joined us today. Welcome to T allink Grupp Investor Webinar, Introducing the Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and 12 Months of 2024. My name is Anneli Simm. I'm the Investor Relations Manager at T allink, and I will be moderating today's webinar. Today, the members of the Management Board, Mr. Harri Hanschmidt and Mr. Margus Schults, will walk you through the presentation on the operations of Tallink, Q4 and 12-month financial results, as well as the key takeaways. After the presentation, Mr. Paavo Nõgene, the CEO of Tallink Grupp, will take your questions. We have already received a few questions, but I encourage you to ask your questions through the Q&A function. It would be also nice if you would identify yourself when asking the questions. But enough said, I will now hand the microphone over to Harri.
Thank you, Anneli. Good afternoon, and thank you for listening to the fourth quarter webinar where we also talk about the 12-month unaudited financial results of the 2024 financial year for Tallink Grupp. My name is Harri Hanschmidt. I'm a management board member for Tallink, and as Anneli mentioned, I will get started with the presentation, after which Margus will continue, and you can ask questions from our CEO, Paavo, in the end. When we look at key facts about Tallink Grupp, as at the end of 2024, the company is very much in a similar situation as a year ago. We own and operate 14 vessels on five routes. We have 12 passenger vessels and two cargo vessels, and we offer leisure travel, short cruises, business travel, and ro-ro cargo transportation services throughout the Baltic Sea region on five regular routes.
We had three vessels in charter and about long and short-term charters. We have very strong brands, the Tallink brand, Silja Line brand, and also our Club One members program that is growing and has achieved 3.3 million members. We also operate four hotels, three of them in Tallinn, one in Riga. The hotels are supporting the main business as we can offer packages, spa packages, conferences, etc., especially in wintertime. We have 21 Burger King restaurants throughout the Baltics and also two on the shuttle vessels, MyStar and Megastar, that operate between Tallinn and Helsinki. We also have two standalone restaurants in Tallinn. We had 4,800 employees in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Latvia, and Lithuania. We offer shopping on board the vessels, on shore and online.
We have a slide where you can see all the vessels on all the routes as there are time changes, and we are very much focused on the core business and finding the best vessel for the best route. Also, there are charters, so this is good to keep track of. This is the picture at the end of the fourth quarter, and as we also mentioned in the report, meanwhile, after the fourth quarter reporting period, our vessel Star returned. She was named James Joyce for a time being and now is operating under the name Star 1 on the Paldiski-Kapellskär route, and because of that, Regal Star and Sailor are in layup. So after the first quarter, this picture will be a little bit different again.
When we look at the fourth quarter revenues, altogether our revenue was 183.5 million EUR, quite the same level as the same period last year with a slight drop, 10.2 million EUR less or 5.3% less. We did see a small growth in revenues on the Tallinn-Helsinki route by 1.8 million EUR, and we also saw steady revenue stream from tickets, 1.4 million EUR more than the fourth quarter last year. The consumer confidence remains low, and the economic situation overall in the Nordics and Baltics is quite weak, and we can see this also from the demand on the shopping side where we had 3.8 million EUR less revenue than last year. Also, we can see a drop in charter revenues because of a comparison of five vessels were in charter the year before.
Now we had three vessels in charter at the same time, and we saw EUR 5.1 million less revenues from charter. Also, we had the vessels in layup. This also generates some additional cost. On EBITDA side, we generated EUR 25.7 million of EBITDA, and that's EUR 11 million less than the last year, and we ended up with a small net loss of EUR 5.2 million for the fourth quarter, and this is also a weaker result than last year. The capital expenditure remained the same level, EUR 5.9 million, and was mainly used for maintenance and repair of the v essels.
On the right side, this is now for the annual result. We can see that our interest-bearing liabilities dropped by EUR 92.9 million, so we are deleveraging and paid back loan and also interest on loan, and the net debt also went down from EUR 607 million to EUR 537 million or 11.5%.
If you look at the sales and results by geographical segments, we can see on the bridge chart that we had EUR 1.8 million more revenue from the Estonia-Finland route, but Estonia-Sweden, Finland-Sweden saw a slight decline, and other is mainly charter-related revenues. It was down by EUR 8.6 million. Also, the segment result reflects the same image with the difference. Estonia-Finland had a slight decrease as well attributed to the onboard spending.
When we look at the sales by operational segments, this is quite a familiar image of the fourth quarter revenue. 51% of our revenues come from restaurant and shop sales, 26% come from ticket sales, 11% from cargo, and 8% from charter. We already mentioned that the restaurant and shop sales decreased to EUR 3.8 million, but we did see a slight raise in ticket sales by EUR 1.4 million. Cargo transportation was also a little bit weaker, EUR 1.7 million decrease.
Accommodation sales were around the same level as last year, and income from charter dropped by 5.1 million E UR. If you look at the full year revenue, then it was a total of 785.8 million EUR, 10.2 million EUR down from last year, but we can say it's pretty much the same level. We did see higher revenue on the Estonia-Sweden route, but this is because we also had Victoria doing trips in summertime together with Baltic Queen, so it's not exactly a like-for-like period, and we have said publicly that this year our customers can enjoy the services of Victoria on the Tallinn-Helsinki route in the summertime. There was a strong result in accommodation sales, higher 1.3 million EUR, and ticket sales were higher by 7.2 million EUR versus last year.
We saw a decrease in net finance costs as we are deleveraging, and also the interest costs were slightly lower, so it was EUR 7.3 million less for them compared to the last year. EBITDA was altogether EUR 175.2 million, and we ended up with EUR 40.3 million. Net profit CapEx for the whole year was EUR 22.4 million. If you look at the dynamics, then we can see that the three last years after the pandemic have been quite similar.
We can observe that the first and second, or the first and fourth quarter are our weakest quarters, and the summer seasonality that starts in the second quarter and the main quarter is the third quarter. We see more passengers compared to the first and fourth quarter, also higher revenues, and maybe the most on EBITDA or the profitability level, we can see the stronger results, especially in the third quarter.
If you look at, for example, on EBITDA level, a comparison to the 2019 year, we can see a very strong first quarter, but this is one of positive deals from the sale of the vessel Isabelle that is affecting this quarter. On the net profit level, the picture is the same. We had a small profit in the first and second quarter, and most of the profit is made in the third quarter, and the fourth quarter was slightly negative. This is all from my side. I will give word to my colleague Margus Schults, who will continue with the presentation. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Harri. Yes, good afternoon also from my side. My name is Margus Schults, and I'm Group Chief Financial Officer, and I would like to provide further some slides with numbers regarding 2024 and Q4 2024 results.
So, like already mentioned, the total sales in 2024 was EUR 786 million, out of which EUR 184 million came during the last quarter of the year. This is down about 6% from the year before, and basically reflecting very much the economic environment we have. Uncertainty of passengers is on higher levels than in the past, so the traveling willingness is definitely lower. The cargo volumes are lower, but also it reflects the fact that we have now less chartered vessels than in 2023. So basically, out of this EUR 786 million total revenue, roughly 80% is coming from passengers, but 10% is coming from cargo, which is very much on the low levels at the moment, and the final 10% is coming from our charter business and other minor revenues.
The cost of sales has been stable comparing year- to- year and also the last quarter, and basically it reflects the fact that we have now some idle vessels, two idle vessels almost during the whole year and during the whole last quarter. Idle vessels also create costs for staffing and also port fees and fuel. This is basically the reflection that although sales have dropped 6%, the costs what we have had have been stable. Like already mentioned, our full year EBITDA was EUR 175 million, and last quarter EBITDA was EUR 26 million. Like Harri showed, this is a typical low season result. We try to be on plus minus zero. This year, our net profit was minus 5 million EUR, but I would say that without these two idle vessels, we would reach definitely break-even or even small plus also in the last quarter.
What is positive is that the EBITDA margin is still above 20% for full 2024, so there is drop only 1.5% comparing EBITDA margin in 2023. And this 40%, sorry, EUR 40 million profit in 2024 basically means per share we had a profit EUR 0.054. The breakdown of cost is very much similar. Our three biggest cost items, one is of course the cost of goods, so the stuff we are selling on board representing 22% of the costs, and it's basically 4% lower than the year before, reflecting the fact that we have had less passengers on board. The second largest cost item is our staff, about 19% or 142 million EUR in 2024. And like already mentioned, the higher staff cost is very much related to the fact that we have now Victoria operating fully in our own fleet.
This is stuff on this vessel and also the fact that we have had a couple of idle vessels which should also be manned during the stay in the port. The third largest cost item is our fuel. Basically last year it was EUR 96 million, a little bit down or almost flat comparing the year before, reflecting that of course cargo line costs have been going down during the year, but unfortunately gas LNG prices have gone up. Depreciation is very much on the same level, about EUR 100 million per year, but what is positive also for us that the financing costs have been going down 20% to EUR 28 million last year, and it's basically very much reflecting that we have quite aggressive loan down payment schedule.
We pay almost EUR 90 million principal every year, also last year, but also it reflects the fact that Euribor has been going down during this year. On the cash flow side, our operating cash flow was EUR 158 million during the whole year, out of which EUR 31 million came during the last quarter. Our capital expenditure, EUR 22 million, is very much related to the different technical works and also upgrading of passenger facilities on our different vessels, but of course this EUR 22 million also includes different IT development costs what we have had during the whole year. Asset disposal, EUR 25 million, basically reflects the sales of Isabelle in January 2024. Yes, like I mentioned, debt financing is that we paid last year.
Net effect is EUR 106 million, about EUR 86 million like is principal payment, and we paid also last year first time after COVID dividends, so this is affecting comparison to 2023 when we did not pay dividends, so dividends payment plus related taxes were about EUR 50 million 2024, and like mentioned already, then in 2023 this row was zero. On total asset, we have asset base is still our vessels, so it's EUR 1.4 billion, almost EUR 1.5 billion. We are amortized, like I already mentioned, the asset with a speed about EUR 98 million per year. Mostly this is related to vessels, but of course, like already shown in the previous slides, then we also had EUR 22 million new investments done to the vessels, which add some depreciations, and on liability side, we have very strong balance sheet.
More than 50% in our balance sheet is shareholders' equity, and the loans down payment is quite, like I mentioned already, quite rapid, so now the loan amount is basically the total interest-bearing liabilities are EUR 9 80 million, so below the value of our equity, and net debt EBITDA was at the end of year quite healthy, 3.07 times, and we predict that since we are going to pay further down the loan payments, and of course the ratio should also start to decline further, and like I mentioned already, equity to asset ratio 53%, quite a good level. Our loan portfolio is presented on this slide. Basically, we restructured the loan portfolio in December 2023, so it has been now stable for a little bit more than one year.
We removed in 2023. We agreed with lenders' removal of all restrictions what we had due to the COVID times, and also we removed from overdraft EUR 60 million extra overdrafts what we had as a liquidity buffer for COVID times. So this loan portfolio now very much reflects normal operations. We restructured the loan, different loan agreements into one, so currently we have now three bank loans outstanding, one syndicated loan and two shipbuilding loans for Megastar and MyStar, and the remaining maturity of those is still 4%-10%. Some of the loans are fixed rate loans, and some of those loans are Euribor-based loans. And last but not least, we have now agreed with our Supervisory Board that also this year we propose to shareholders' meeting the dividend of EUR 0.06 per share. So this will be very much in line with what we had last year.
Our dividend policy says that we should pay at least EUR 0.05 per share if the economic conditions are lower, but since already mentioned, COVID years have been quite severe for everyone, for company, for staff, but also for shareholders. We want to continue at least in 2025 with the same line as we did last year and propose a EUR 0.06 cent dividend. Thank you.
Thank you, Harri and Margus. So before we kick off the Q&A session, Mr. Paavo Nõgene, we'll say a few words.
Yes, good afternoon also from my side. As my colleagues already explained in more detail, we had a kind of like tough year as our last five years, but we found a way how to adapt and ended the year still with a very solid EBITDA, EUR 175 million and net profit EUR 40 million.
As you and we all know, the economic environment has been very challenging, so I'm proud of my 5,000 colleagues and employees to reach this result in these circumstances. Definitely the first quarter of 2025 is challenging as well. We know that what's going on in the geopolitical situation and the economy is very fragile in our home markets, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden, but definitely all the team makes everything possible to make the best result out of 2025 as well.
Okay, we have received a few questions, and the first one goes like, "Could you please elaborate on your thinking regarding dividend payouts? Are you trying to keep it stable around the policy EUR 0.05, or is it more like depending on an individual year's results?" Yeah, not so much emphasis is put on keeping the dividend stable from an absolute euro perspective.
Yes, thank you for the question. Today's news, EUR 0.06 dividend payment is possible due to our strong capitalization, rapid loan repayment, and the fact that we are not able to make very large investment decisions in the coming years because we don't know what technology or fuel the new ships will be using for the next, for example, 40 years. Therefore, we were able to announce the EUR 0.06 payment, but generally we tend to adhere to the dividend policy unless extraordinary events occur.
Thank you. There is a question from one person, which is comprised of several questions, so I go one by one. Could you tell a bit more regarding your plans for the Estonia-Sweden routes? And the question is, will Star be marketed towards passengers in a different way than former Kapellskär v essels?
Yes, Star definitely carry more passengers by car or bus because the ship design allows it, cabin capacity, and the passenger capacity is definitely bigger compared to regular Star and Sailor.
Thank you. Will there be one, two, or no ships at Stockholm, Mariehamn, T allinn routes?
As announced, we continue with one vessel on Tallinn, M ariehamn, Stockholm route, and we don't plan to make changes to this during this year.
Is there any advantage using the tax-free options on your Estonia routes? Would you even consider skipping Åland on this route?
Just very shortly, there are no plans to change this.
Thank you. Would it be an option to have Star going via Mariehamn to Tallinn?
Probably no, w e don't have time for that because if we want to have the two daily departures, one from Kapellskär and one from Paldiski, in the same day, morning and evening, then we don't have just time to go through the Mariehamn, a nd most probably economically, it's also kind of difficult because the cargo prices are under the pressure, and if we need to make some extra four-hour trip, two plus two hours, then it probably will be losing competition.
Thank you. Is the proposed dividend of EUR 0.06 a reflection of your confidence in FY25 expected results, and what are your main targets you desire to achieve this year?
The EUR 0.06 is a reflection of the 2024, and as I explained, a reflection that our debt is going to fade down quite rapidly and very fast, and as well as we don't plan very extra large investments due to the lack of the technology. So let's see how the 2025 is going, but currently we make the decision based on the results and results 2024 and acknowledge what we are going to do with our investments in coming two or three years.
Thank you. The next question repeats the previous, but I still read it out. Hello, thank you for the presentation. What is the source of the optimism regarding dividend proposal? Do you expect very good results in 2025 or some more vessel sales?
We are a bit overcapitalized, and there are ways how to reduce it to make the capital payment to the shareholders or the dividend. We decided to improve the dividend.
Thank you. There is one more. Yes, one second. Could you give any color on how should we think about your plans this year with the vessels in layup?
We're working hard. Generally, the market last year was very calm. Actually, if you take a look at how many vessels were sold last year and the charter, it was significantly low. We have seen now some more signs that this year will be more active. We have in pipeline 15 different negotiations. Negotiations sometimes will result with the contract, sometimes not, but definitely we work hard to find alternative work.
Regarding the cargo vessels, we generally are ready to sell them, but of course it always depends on what kind of solution and offer we will receive.
Thank you. Are there plans for the southern Finland traffic, T urku-Stockholm route, that would affect the operating ships or add or take out operations?
No, we don't see any change in Turku-Stockholm route currently.
Also, the aging ships on Helsinki-Stockholm, what is being done to keep passengers using them and making them economical to use?
During the first quarter of 2025, we have extensive d ockings, and Silja Serenade actually just came back from the docking. We invested a lot of money to improve the energy efficiency, improve the technology side, and also improve the cabin bathrooms quite significantly. Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony are the unique vessels on Helsinki-Stockholm route, the very loved ones by the Finns and Swedes.
So we have definitely the competitive advantage there compared to the vessels our competitor is using. So we feel strong there, but saying that, of course, we see that there are overcapacity on that route as it was Turku-Stockholm route. So let's see how this improves, but we definitely are planning to continue with Silja Serenade, Silja Symphony, because they are meant for that route and very well known for the Finns and Swedes.
Thank you. City Council of Riga has been trying to get ferry service back to the city. Has Tallink been in conversations and planned to start operations to Riga or some other route with layup vessels?
Yes, we are in regular contact with the authorities from Latvia, and I visited the Minister of Transport just a few weeks ago, and they have been here.
We are in discussions, but there are some assumptions which need to realize. First of all, the war in Ukraine needs to come to an end, and then we need to see that it's financially and economically or financially reasonable to open the Riga-Stockholm route. Currently, it's not profitable, and yes, let's see when the war is going to end, in what kind of circumstances, and then we can make the decision. We are not planning to open that route this year, so if there is going to happen something, then it's longer, not in 2025, but can happen somewhere in the future,
And that was the last question today. We thank everybody for attending and for the questions asked. Have a good rest of the day, and we expect you back for our first quarter results published in April this year, and yes, thank you and goodbye.