photo: PKP Cargo press materials/According to the latest estimated financial results, PKP CARGO is still at a loss. Why is a freight carrier from Poland failing to get out of the impasse?
Last week, the Polish state-owned rail cargo carrier published estimated selected consolidated financial and operating results for the first three quarters of this year. The results are not promising. After three quarters of 2021, PKP CARGO's estimated loss is PLN 153.5 million, compared to PLN 176.3 million in the corresponding period of 2020.
Specifically, the Board of Directors of PKP CARGO S.A., which is currently in a limited report, states that the following results were achieved in the first 9 months of 2021:
- revenue from contracts with customers: PLN 3 145.9 million
- EBIT: PLN -138.4 million
- net result: PLN -153.5 million
- EBITDA: PLN 392.3 million
- transport volume: 75.0 million tonnes
The negative results of PKP CARGO, in addition to the impact of the pandemic, may also have affected the last concluded transport contracts, which the company won in the tenders. Among other major players in the Polish railway market, it is assumed that the prices offered by the state carrier, thanks to which it often won multi-million contracts, were inadequate to the current market situation and are not sustainable in terms of profitability in the long run.
The above data may be the reason for the resignation of the company's management last month. In September, the Supervisory Board of PKP CARGO removed almost the entire Board of Directors of the company, including its Chairman. A qualification process for new members of the Board of Directors is currently underway. Candidates can submit their applications until December 7, 2021.