Scandlines saw slow recovery in 2021 after pandemic low

CAPTION: Scandlines saw slow recovery in 2021 after pandemic low. (picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild)

The Scandlines shipping company is seeing a chance for new opportunities thanks to good sales and profit figures for the year 2021. Revenues rose by 20 percent to 328 million euros compared to 2020, the company announced in Rostock, the port city on the northern German coast. Below the line, the company posted a pre-tax profit of 62 million euros with 3.6 million passengers and 720,000 cargo units, a huge leap compared to just 9 million euros in the previous 12 months. Strict cost management and efficiency measures were responsible for the good figures, it said. According to the figures, this also included personnel, with Scandlines reporting an annual average of 120 employees fewer than in 2020.

Pandemic-related pressures on the business continued. "2021 was another year of uncertainty and extreme volatility, but we were pleased to see a gradual normalization of traffic and activity levels," said Group CEO Carsten Nørland. However, despite double-digit growth in ferry services, the balance sheet reportedly remained well below pre-pandemic levels. The situation was different for cargo traffic, where the highest level ever was achieved in 2021, according to the report.

Nørland has high hopes for the current year. Although the restrictions caused by the pandemic would also have affected the start of 2022, these are expected to decrease between spring and summer. In the case of freight traffic, it is also hoped that the strong development seen so far will continue. Despite the obvious optimism, however, the company has decided not to issue a forecast for sales and profits. Due to the continuing high level of uncertainty, the company's management said that it is not in a position to make precise forecasts.

In the medium to long term, the company intends to invest in environmentally-friendly initiatives and competitiveness. By 2040, the shipping company says that it plans to operate emissions-free.

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