Tallink MyStar is a key vessel for retail sales.

The Baltic’s biggest cruise-ferry operator, Tallink Grupp, saw first-half growth of +1.06% in its duty-free business unit: restaurant and shop sales onboard and onshore. However, there was a Q2 contraction of -1% as passenger numbers declined just as the group entered the high season for travel.

Restaurant and shop sales hit €170.61m in H1 2026, and €101.05m in the second quarter, below the €102m in the same period in the previous year. The decline is a worry as the second and third quarters (from April to June and July to September) are the most lucrative in terms of duty-free sales. These six months typically account for 56% of annual retail revenue.

Traffic flux appears to be the main driver of the change. In the second quarter, Estonia-based Tallink carried 1.45m passengers, down -2.2% year-on-year and, in that context, retail showed some resilience. For the first half overall (1 January to 30 June), the group carried 2.49m passengers, up +1.3% year-on-year, with restaurant and shop sales not quite keeping pace.

On Tallink’s busiest route between Finland and Estonia, traffic rose marginally by +0.2% to 1.61m while the longer Finland to Sweden route saw growth of +9.1% to 596,846.

Tallink revenue breakdown by segment (click image to enlarge).

Tallink focuses on improving profitability

Peep Jalakas, Chairman of the Management Board of AS Tallink Grupp, did not comment on the duty-free business, but said in a statement: “Looking at the first half of the year as a whole, we see clear signs of improvement – both revenue and EBITDA have grown. However, geopolitical tensions and volatility in energy markets continue to affect our operations. Developing our services, investing in fleet upgrades and optimising our core operations will create the conditions needed for profitability to improve in the periods ahead.”

Tallink’s consolidated unaudited revenue for the second quarter amounted to €207m, in line with the same period last year. EBITDA was €34.3m, which is -8.3% lower year-on-year. The quarter ended with a net loss of €2.5m, which includes €12.5m in dividend-related income tax.

Across the first half, the figures are better. Revenue grew by +3.5% to €356.4m, and EBITDA reached €36.4m, up +8.5%. This helped reduce the net loss to €24.5m from nearly €36m in the same period in 2025.

Tallink says that high fuel prices and economic uncertainty across its core markets continued to affect its results. Fuel costs rose substantially in Q2 “making it one of the most significant sources of pressure”. Jalakas said: “Despite this, we have managed to maintain a stable overall performance.”

The group invested €21.5m during the first half of the year, with a significant proportion allocated to maintenance and upgrades to vessels such as Silja Symphony, Baltic Queen and Victoria I.

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