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PR Newswire
23-02-2013, 09:51 AM
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Feb 23, 2013
NOL reports $121m loss for latest quarter
Industry still struggling with over-supply, says company
SINGAPORE - Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), South-east Asia's biggest container shipping company, reported a loss bigger than analysts had estimated as an economic slowdown in Europe dampened trade.
Net loss in the three months to Dec 28 was US$98 million (S$121 million), compared with the average US$12.6 million loss forecast of five analysts' estimates compiled by Bloom- berg.
A year earlier, the company had a US$320.4 million loss, according to a statement the shipping liner sent to the Singapore stock exchange yesterday.
NOL, which shed assets, selling older vessels and returning chartered ships, moved 802,000 40-foot equivalent cargo boxes in the quarter, 3per cent lower than a year earlier, because of trade between Asia and Europe.
The carrier expects a "better performance" this year, joining AP Moller-Maersk, owner of the world's biggest container shipping line, in forecasting an optimistic outlook this year.
"The container shipping industry continues to face severe over-supply," NOL said in the statement.
"The company will start 2013 with a better cost base as a result of a modern fleet. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the company expects a better performance than in 2012."
It said it had achieved its target of cutting costs by US$500 million last year.
NOL, whose businesses include container shipping, terminals and logistics operations, gained 0.4 per cent to close at $1.225 before the earnings announcement.
The stock has advanced 7 per cent this year, compared with a 3.8 per cent increase in the benchmark Straits Times Index.
The company is selling its headquarters to fund "strategic investments", it said in October without elaborating.
The ship operator is also adding larger and more fuel-efficient ships amid rising competition.
Maersk Line, which reported earnings yesterday, also reduced its fleet and slowed vessel speeds last year to curb over-capacity as falling worldwide consumer demand affects cargo volume and hurts freight charges.
Maersk Line said profit this year will be higher than the US$461 million reached last year as the company cuts costs and container demand-growth accelerates.
APL, NOL's container shipping arm, earned an average revenue per box of US$2,419, a 3 per cent increase.
The unit filled 92 per cent of capacity in the three-month period, unchanged from a year earlier.
Spot rates to haul a 20-foot container to Europe from Asia rose 5.2 per cent to US$1,218 in the fourth quarter, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.
Those to the United States' west coast dropped 19 per cent to US$1,112. Lines need at least US$1,200 to make money, according to shipbroker Icap.
BLOOMBERG
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Feb 23, 2013
NOL reports $121m loss for latest quarter
Industry still struggling with over-supply, says company
SINGAPORE - Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), South-east Asia's biggest container shipping company, reported a loss bigger than analysts had estimated as an economic slowdown in Europe dampened trade.
Net loss in the three months to Dec 28 was US$98 million (S$121 million), compared with the average US$12.6 million loss forecast of five analysts' estimates compiled by Bloom- berg.
A year earlier, the company had a US$320.4 million loss, according to a statement the shipping liner sent to the Singapore stock exchange yesterday.
NOL, which shed assets, selling older vessels and returning chartered ships, moved 802,000 40-foot equivalent cargo boxes in the quarter, 3per cent lower than a year earlier, because of trade between Asia and Europe.
The carrier expects a "better performance" this year, joining AP Moller-Maersk, owner of the world's biggest container shipping line, in forecasting an optimistic outlook this year.
"The container shipping industry continues to face severe over-supply," NOL said in the statement.
"The company will start 2013 with a better cost base as a result of a modern fleet. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the company expects a better performance than in 2012."
It said it had achieved its target of cutting costs by US$500 million last year.
NOL, whose businesses include container shipping, terminals and logistics operations, gained 0.4 per cent to close at $1.225 before the earnings announcement.
The stock has advanced 7 per cent this year, compared with a 3.8 per cent increase in the benchmark Straits Times Index.
The company is selling its headquarters to fund "strategic investments", it said in October without elaborating.
The ship operator is also adding larger and more fuel-efficient ships amid rising competition.
Maersk Line, which reported earnings yesterday, also reduced its fleet and slowed vessel speeds last year to curb over-capacity as falling worldwide consumer demand affects cargo volume and hurts freight charges.
Maersk Line said profit this year will be higher than the US$461 million reached last year as the company cuts costs and container demand-growth accelerates.
APL, NOL's container shipping arm, earned an average revenue per box of US$2,419, a 3 per cent increase.
The unit filled 92 per cent of capacity in the three-month period, unchanged from a year earlier.
Spot rates to haul a 20-foot container to Europe from Asia rose 5.2 per cent to US$1,218 in the fourth quarter, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.
Those to the United States' west coast dropped 19 per cent to US$1,112. Lines need at least US$1,200 to make money, according to shipbroker Icap.
BLOOMBERG
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