According to preliminary data, LG generated €502.1m in revenue over the year, up 12.5% compared with the €446.4m generated in 2017.

LG increased the volume of freight transported by 7.9%, with LG’s freight forwarding division carrying 56.8 million tonnes during the year, compared with 52.6 million tonnes in 2017.

The company’s passenger division also carried 5.1 billion passengers throughout the year, 511,000 or 11% more than in the same period last year, while the introduction of a new timetable in December resulted in improved performance.

In total, passenger and freight trains travelled more than 16.1 million kilometres over the Lithuanian network, 5.9% more than in 2017.

Looking ahead, LG says 2019 will be a year of change. The company will implement the provisions of the European Union’s Fourth Railway Package, taking into account the amendments to the railway transport code adopted by the Lithuanian parliament in February last year.

Under the amendments, LG will be divided into separate companies starting with the freight transport division. A holding company structure will be adopted, with infrastructure, freight and passenger operations split into separate enterprises under the control of the parent company LG, which will remain 100% state-owned.

“I am delighted that we have laid a solid foundation for a challenging 2019 by increasing efficiency,” says LG general manager, Mr Mantas Bartuška. “All LG’s divisions have achieved positive results, which shows their readiness to take one step further - to concentrate their activities in separate companies.”