SOUTH Korean ocean carrier HMM has wiped out two-thirds of the losses it incurred in the past five years with a US$1.95 billion net profit in the third quarter, reports UK's The Loadstar.
The carrier racked up over $3 billion in losses since 2016, bringing a period of financial restructuring and exclusion from a major alliance.
But the flagship carrier's revenue in Q3 was, at $3.4 billion, 134 per cent up on Q3 2020, driven by soaring container freight rates from Asia.
The carrier did not report its liftings for the quarter, but at the H1 stage it had carried 1.93 million TEU for a turnover of $4.5 billion, implying a market-leading average rate of $2,330 per TEU. This suggests HMM carries a higher percentage of spot and short-term contract cargo than its peers.
And its net profit of $181 million in Q2 would have been at least $1 billion higher, but for an accounting derivatives loss.
HMM's nearly $2 billion profit for Q3 compares favourably with fellow THE Alliance member Japanese carrier ONE, which although almost twice the size in terms of capacity, at 1.6 million TEU, reported a net profit of 'just' $2.4 billion for the same period.
HMM's outlook for the fourth quarter is positive, it said, current market conditions were "expected to last through this year at least".
Nevertheless there was an air of caution longer-term: "There is a likelihood that disruptions to production amid widespread power shortages in China may cause temporary fluctuations in demand," it warned.
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