Like the rest of the world, Finnlines operated in the midst of exceptional times in 2023. The uncertain global situation affected us and we continued to adjust our business operations. Our employees deserve a warm thanks for their commitment and patience during changes. Above all, we were enthusiastic and proud to welcome the Superstar ro-pax vessels, whose construction we had followed with great interest. Thank you all who were involved in the project and worked hard to achieve the targets.

All in all, there was a positive vibe in the air and our personnel had a “yes, we can” attitude, which was a pleasure to follow.

Employee well-being

Finnlines focused on its employees’ well-being, occupational safety and work ability also in 2023. On account of the 2022 personnel survey we continued to move forward with various development actions on the team and company level. A new survey will be conducted in the autumn of 2024 and it will reveal where we have advanced and what we should improve.

The hybrid work model has become established among the shore-based personnel and the conclusion is that it balances work and spare time well. Work in the office is still an important part of the hybrid model and we consider it to build social cohesion and support teamwork.

The introduction of a new HR system also continued during 2023 and the target is to finalise it in subsidiaries during the first two quarters of 2024. Furthermore, we have already started to insert HR data into a Business Intelligence (BI) reporting tool and this project will proceed in 2024. This tool enables us to use existing data in diverse ways. All these tools are important steps to get started with CSRD reporting (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive).

Skilled and competent employees

The Superstar newbuilding project was completed and Finnlines took delivery of the vessels in China. Finnsirius entered traffic in September and Finncanopus was delivered w vessels and we therefore launched an extensive recruitment campaign in spring 2023 to also attract people working outside the shipping sector. The campaign was successful and we are delighted to note that, like in 2022, great interest was expressed in jobs ashore and at sea. It is evident that our employer brand has got stronger and long-term work has paid off.

The new Superstar ro-pax vessels have introduced a new service concept and we invested in training to ensure that customers will get first-rate service.

Our previous on-going and new development projects progressed, for example the development of IT systems, and we will also focus on them in 2024.

We are proud of how well our employees have concentrated on their tasks in spite of uncertain times, ensuring that any adverse effects on business are minimal. Like in the past, our employees deserve recognition for their responsible attitude.

Personnel figures

In 2023, the Group revenue/average number of personnel was EUR 388 (438 in 2022) thousand. EBIT/average number of personnel amounted to EUR 42 (81) thousand.

The Group employed an average of 1,752 (1,679) persons during t he reporting period, consisting of 1,028 (959) persons at sea and 724 (720) on shore. The number of employees at the end of the period totalled 1,877 (1,657), of whom 1,138 (938) at sea and 739 (719) on shore.

The personnel expenses (including social costs) for the reporting period totalled EUR 101.9 (96.4) million.