Revenue also increased 11% from Zloty 4.73bn to Zloty 5.24bn, the highest level since PKP Cargo was listed on the Warsaw stock exchange. Ebitda reached Zloty 907m, up 30% from Zloty 700m in 2017.

Capital expenditures rose 59% to Zloty 894m, with rolling stock investments, including the purchase of three new Dragon 2 electric locomotives, accounting for the majority of spending.

PKP Cargo carried a total of 121.9 million tonnes of freight in 2018, up 2.3% compared with 2017. The increase was mostly due to demand for aggregates and construction materials, which increased 17.4% from 22.2 million tonnes to 26 million tonnes, as well as the development of the intermodal sector, which was up 21.6%.

Carriage of metals and ores fell by 3.3% to 12.6 million tonnes, while carriage of hard coal was also down 1.1% to 51.2 million tonnes.

“We successfully accomplish one of our main goals, which is to increase the value of the company for shareholders primarily by improving the efficiency of the PKP Cargo's operations,” says PKP Cargo president, Mr Czesław Warsewicz. “Thanks to this, the competitiveness of PKP Cargo is growing as we are able to respond better to customers’ expectations. And we strengthen ourselves in the position of the market leader that is undisputed by anyone.”

Intermodal

PKP Cargo said the intermodal market was the key sector it was looking to grow in future, with numerous plans to purchase intermodal wagons and locomotives in 2019-2022. The company carried 9.2 million tonnes of interimodal freight in 2018, up 21.6% from 7.6 million tonnes in 2017.

“Intermodal transport is already one of the key segments of the transport market, and its importance will systematically grow,” says Warsewicz. “Therefore, PKP Cargo focuses on the development of logistic services in the coming years to provide customers with comprehensive cargo handling.”