Finnish national rail operator VR Group has increased its profits in the first quarter of 2017. The company's profits for January-March were at 15.3 million euros, compared with a 6 million euros in losses a year earlier. The company's net sales grew by 10.6 percent during 2017's first quarter.
"In all business operations, net sales increased significantly during the first quarter of 2017," CEO Rolf Jansson states in the VR Group release. "We are particularly pleased with the increase in passenger numbers and the volume of freight transported. Together with improved efficiency in VR operations, the growth in net sales can also be seen in the positive results of the first quarter."
VR says that more than 33 million train trips were counted by the end of April. Trip figures grew by 17.2 percent compared with last year's statistics.
VR Transport, the company's cargo unit, also did well in the Q1 review. Shipment quantities rose to 10.9 million tonnes from last year's 9.9 million tonnes.
