NOL Group swings to US$100m net profit in Q2
Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has reported a net profit of US$100 million for the second quarter of 2010, up from a net loss of US$146 million in the second quarter of last year. The Group’s Core EBIT for the quarter was US$114 million compared with a loss of US$131 million in the same quarter a year ago. Second quarter 2010 revenue increased by 53% to US$2.1 billion. According to group president & CEO Ronald Widdows, continued strong container shipping volumes and improving freight rates helped the company to return to profitability. For the first half of 2010, NOL reported Core EBIT of US$40 million, compared with a loss of US$353 million a year ago. Revenue in the first half was up 44% to US$4.2 billion. Net profit for the first half of 2010 was US$1 million, compared with a net loss of US$391 million in the first half of 2009. NOL is presenting the financial results of Container Shipping and Terminals as one business unit, namely Liner. APL, NOL’s Liner shipping business, reported first half 2010 revenue of US$3.7 billion, up 46% (H1 2009: US$2.5bn). Volume in the first half increased by 39% to 1.35 million FEU. Core EBIT was US$13 million, up from a loss of US$372 million a year ago. APL president Eng Aik Meng said that vessels were effectively full during much of the first half of this year, even though idled vessels were reintroduced to the network, adding incremental capacity. APL Logistics, NOL Group’s supply chain management business, reported Core EBIT of US$27 million in the first half of 2010, up 13% from H1 2009. Revenue was up 33% to US$578 million, with the improvement attributed primarily to increased volume across various business lines, higher freight forwarding rates and growth in the auto logistics sector. With further improvement anticipated in container shipping volume and rates, NOL expects significant improvement in third quarter profits. Quelle: eyefortransport |
