Stena Line Eyes Slight Improvement For 2000

Officials of loss-making Stena Line said the company expects a slight improvement in earnings for 2000. However, they said, the recovery will not occur until the second half of the year.

Stena Line posted a loss after financial items of $57.2 million for 1999 after a loss of $38 million the previous year. The scrapping of European tax-free shopping in June last year hit results in the second half of 1999.

Officials said the ferry operator is focusing on returning to profitability following the loss of duty-free concessions, stating that the company had already achieved significant cost cuts that it had been required to make, including closing the Halmstad-Grena route and shedding 700 jobs. The group also plans to start adjusting operations to market demand.