Cargo, Financial Services, Latvia, Railways, Transport

According to the company's financial statement, due to various geopolitical processes, freight shipping by rail continued to decrease in the first nine months of 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic only added to the negative trend, the LDz management said.

In the nine months of 2020, public railway infrastructure was used to carry 10.214 million rail passengers over 4.503 million train-kilometers and 17,451 million tons of freight over 3.595 million train-kilometers. Compared to the first nine months of 2019, the overall mileage reduced by 27.7%, including by 45.4% for freight shipments and 2.4% for passenger transportation. 

The amount of rail freight carried in the first nine months of 2020 fell by 14.192 million tons, or 44.9%, from the respective period in 2019 when 31.643 million tons of freight were shipped by rail. This year, rail freight shipments were dominated by import cargo, accounting for 69.5% of total rail freight. Compared to January-September 2019, shipping of import freight was down 52.1% to 12.124 million tons.

Oil and oil products made up 24.3% of all rail freight shipped in the first nine months of this year and coal made up 20.1%. Mineral fertilizers made up 10.1%, cattle fodder accounted for 7.8%, grain for 5.5%, timber and wooden products for 8.8% and other freight for 23.4% of all rail freight carried in the first nine months of this year.

Meanwhile, the number of rail passengers carried in the first nine months of 2020 decreased 28.1% on year to 10.214 million people. International rail passenger traffic is currently suspended due to the Covid-19 crisis. 

Considering the drop in rail freight and passenger numbers, LDz expects to close this year with a loss. The company's management has developed a crisis action plan providing for a number of cost saving measures, including fresh layoffs in 2020. 

To keep LDz operational amid the crisis, the Transport Ministry has allocated the rail company extra EUR 27.326 million from contingency funds. 

LDz closed the first nine months of 2019 with EUR 139.589 million in turnover and a loss of EUR 2.2 million.

Latvijas Dzelzcels is a state-owned railway company. Latvijas Dzelzcels group comprises the parent company, Latvijas Dzelcels, and six subsidiaries: LatRailNet, LDz Cargo, LDz Infrastruktura, LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss, LDz Apsardze, and LDz Logistika.