Tallink Grupp, the listed Estonian cruise ferry company, has reported a strong rise in third quarter earnings on higher passenger volumes.

Group net profit in the third quarter rose to €45.2 million from €36.2 million in the same period last year. Revenues increased to €273.6 million from €262.7 million.

The company reported a 5..5% rise in passenger volumes, to 2.70 million. However, the number of freight units carried fell by 1.0% to 76,062

“In the third quarter, the summer period high season, the Group experienced strong price competition. The proactive marketing activities, improved visibility of sales campaigns and earlier investments into increasingly important online sales solutions has enabled the Group to reclaim the market share on its main routes and increase the total revenue,” Tallink said in a statement.

The Estonia-Finland route third quarter revenue increased by 5.6% compared to same period last year. The increase is driven mainly by an 8.9% growth in the passenger number. The passenger number peaked in July when Group served a record number of 600,000 passengers, which is an all-time high monthly passenger number on that route. The growth of 15.3% in cargo units transported is supported mainly by added capacity.

The Finland-Sweden routes third quarter revenue increased by 6.5% compared to the same period last year, driven by 8.4% growth in the passenger number. The number of cargo units transported decreased by 28.8% due to reduced capacity.

The Estonia-Sweden route passenger number increased by 1.5% and cargo volumes decreased by 8.3%. The Latvia-Sweden route, operating with only one vessel compared to two vessels last year, showed a 25.6% decline in the passenger number and cargo units transported decreased by 35.2%.

The Group’s restaurants and shop sales increased by €9 million or 6.8% in the third quarter, compared to the same period last year, the sales growth is supported mainly by the growth in the passenger number. The upgrades to restaurant and shop concept throughout the fleet in past year, combined with the operational changes, have resulted in higher average on-board revenue per passenger.

The revenue from the chartered out vessels has reduced in the third quarter compared to the same period last year due to fewer ships in charter. Two ships previously in charter were sold in the second quarter of 2015.