The overall performance of PKP Cargo, the Polish state-owned cargo carrier, dropped for the first three quarters of 2023. The volumes were down by 18 per cent year-on-year, while the performance in tonnes-kilometres also declined by 16 per cent. At the same time, the company reported an increase in EBITDA and a return to profit after last year’s loss.

In Q1-Q3 2023, PKP Cargo transported 62 million tonnes of cargo, while its performance in tonnes-kilometres amounted to approximately 17 million. Intermodal transport experienced a drop with 4,1 million tons of cargo compared to the 6,8 million tons in Q1-Q3 2022.

At the same time, coal transport also decreased to approximately 27 million tons from almost 33 million tons in 2022. Finally, aggregate and construction materials volumes also declined slightly, with 15,1 million tons in 2023 compared to 16,3 million tons a year before.

20% EBITDA profitability

The good news for the Polish operator is that its finances are doing slightly better than last year. The company managed to reverse its loss-making operations and make a net profit of around 23 million euros when, in 2022, it reported a loss of about one million euros.

Most importantly, the company’s EBITDA increased by 32 per cent year-on-year, reaching, according to the provided figures, about 197 million euros. In the first three quarters of 2023, the EBITDA margin was 20,3 per cent–a relatively positive number, while Dariusz Seliga, president of PKP Cargo, explained that “EBITDA profitability in the analysed period amounted to 20 per cent,” corresponding to a 3 per cent increase year-on-year.

Seliga underlined that the EBITDA results should be attributed to the company’s cost control attempts, which seem to bear fruit despite the overall dropping performance.

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