Tallink to get 100 mln euro loan from Estonia (updated)

Viking Line Abp

08/05/2020 19:12

(Adds details, context)
    TALLINN, May 8 (Reuters) - Estonia will give the Baltic Sea
shipping firm Tallink  TAL1T.TL , which has been badly hit by
lockdowns, a 3-year loan of 100 million euros ($108 million),
the government of the small EU member said on Friday.
    Tallink - which operates large ferries between Estonia and
Finland, and from Latvia, Estonia and Finland to Sweden - is
approaching its peak season of June-August with most of the
countries around the Baltic closed to travellers because of the
coronavirus pandemic.
    The firm's passenger traffic dropped 96% in April, while
cargo traffic fell 14%. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2CN1X1
    Tallink this week reported a gross loss of 0.2 million euros
for the first quarter, compared to a profit of 10.5 million a
year earlier, and said the outlook was highly uncertain.
    To improve liquidity, Tallink, whose closest rival is Viking
Line  VIK1V.HE , delayed paying a 49.4 million euro instalment
for a new ship to the third quarter and raised an additional 20
million euro overdraft facility from Danske Bank.
    The government said its loan was at 2% over 12-month
EURIBOR, and would be secured by the firm's assets.
 ($1 = 0.9223 euros)

 (Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
 ((tarmo.virki@thomsonreuters.com; +372 564 4562 ;))