Polish national rail freight operator PKP Cargo is seeing the first positive results of its restructuring proceedings. The company has improved its financial performance and is working on new contracts to boost revenue.
Operating losses amounted to 48,6 million Polish złoty (11,18 million euros) in the first quarter of 2025. That is significantly lower than in Q1 2024, when operating losses were as high as 118,1 million złoty (27,16 million euros). PKP Cargo has managed to cut its quarterly loss by more than half in a year.
Moreover, the freight operator achieved an operating profit (EBITDA) of the equivalent of 17,25 million euros. In terms of EBIT, the company recorded a 4,6 million euro loss.
New transport corridors
“The results for the first quarter of 2025 still show the effects of the group’s overscaling and mismatch to the current transport market”, board member Michal Lotoszynski explained. “We are currently carrying out restructuring activities that will change this situation in the long term and lead PKP Cargo to profitability and profits.”
Whereas previous restructuring measures have focused on reducing operating costs, PKP Cargo will now concentrate on obtaining new orders and stabilising sales revenues, according to Lotoszynski.
PKP Cargo is already working on a number of projects to make that happen. “We are intensively developing new transport corridors, expanding our resources to expand the Baltic-Adriatic corridor, as well as our presence on the routes to Hamburg and Rotterdam”, says PKP Cargo President Agnieszka Wasilewska-Semail.
“We are preparing a project for a central hub that will clear the north-south and east-west corridors”, she continues. “We are also in the process of finalising agreements to acquire modern multifunctional rolling stock, which is in line with our strategy for the development of intermodal transport and will allow us to develop our presence in corridors in Europe even more intensively.”
Adverse market conditions
The rail freight operator has recently signed a couple of new contracts to boost business. One of those concerns the transport of coal from the Bogdanka mine to the Połaniec Power Plant worth 11,16 million euros. PKP Cargo also signed agreements with the Azoty group, worth up to 53,59 million euros.
PKP Cargo will continue its restructuring proceedings and submit a final plan in June. However, it is not helped by unfavourable market conditions. The company explains that the rail freight market in Poland has declined by 3.6% year-on-year in terms of volumes. A reduction in coal transportation accounts for a big part of that decline. Within that context, PKP Cargo is looking to maintain its market share.