A good year despite challenges
Port of Turku Ltd is a limited liability company that is wholly owned by the City of Turku. The company’s area of activity is the maintenance of port infrastructure and other related service and leasing activities. The Port of Turku Group consists of the parent company Port of Turku Ltd and its subsidiary Turku Free Zone Company.
Turku Free Zone Company is a warehouse and logistics company specialising in import and export whose entire premises are considered a public type 1 customs warehouse. The company is engaged in free warehousing and storage logistics.
The Port Group’s turnover for 2024 stood at EUR 25.9 million and the operating profit amounted to EUR 5.7 million. The turnover of the parent company, Port of Turku Ltd, increased by 3.7 per cent compared to the previous year for a total of EUR 23.2 million. The company’s good financial performance was partly affected by the decrease in the parent company’s depreciation mass and the sustained high level of financing income. The year 2024 did not live up to expectations for the subsidiary Turku Free Zone Company. As a result of declined demand, the company’s turnover remained at EUR 2.9 million, which was approximately one-third less than in 2023.
The investments of the Port Group totalled EUR 10.7 million.
The most important investments included the planning work related to the Ferry Terminal Turku project and the maintenance dredging of the fairways.
In addition, both Port of Turku Ltd and the Turku Free Zone Company built new warehouse facilities during 2023.
Building the port of the future in 2025
No significant upturn has been seen in the Finnish economy and economic growth is expected to remain minimal this year, which is likely to be reflected in the volumes of cargo and passenger traffic in Finnish ports.
The Port of Turku is no different in this respect and the volumes of passenger and cargo traffic are not expected to increase from the level of 2024 if industrial production, employment and consumer behaviour remain unchanged. In addition to the general economic situation, the growth of volumes in the Port of Turku is slowed by the extended periods of dry docking for vessels and the end of German cargo traffic, at least for the time being.
The Port’s logistics business is expected to remain stable and the outlook for Turku Free Zone Company is also positive.
For the Port of Turku, the year 2025 is particularly relevant as relates to the Ferry Terminal Turku project. Investments in actual construction started in November 2024 and will continue for three years between 2025–2027. The Pier S1 and terminal work are expected to continue as planned in 2025 and the project is scheduled to be completed in its entirety during 2027. The new terminal is expected to increase the appeal of the City of Turku and strengthen the competitiveness with regard to passenger and cargo traffic in the Baltic Sea.
Text: Kari Ahonen
Photo: Aija Kallio
