South Korea’s sea flag carrier HMM Co. has sailed on with hot earnings streak for sixth quarter by renewing quarterly best in the first three-month of this year.

The company Friday reported an operating profit of 3.15 trillion won ($2.46 billion) on a consolidated basis for the first quarter ended March this year, up a whopping 209 percent from a year ago. Revenue came to 4.92 trillion won, doubling on year, with a net profit of 3.13 trillion won versus 154 billion won in the same period of last year. All quarterly figures are the highest ever in history of the country’s largest container transportation and shipping company.

The major driver to the strong performance is a fast improvement in business conditions on high demand and rising freight rates. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) has reached record high levels, averaging 4,851 in the first quarter, up by 74.5 percent from 2,780 a year ago. Freight rates climbed across all routes and regions as consumption has revived across the world in line with easing Covid restrictions.

HMM’s operating profit rose in both container shipping and bulk shipping thanks to the improvement in its cost structure from route rationalization and reduced freight costs.

HMM is expected to receive all 12 super-large container ships (13,000 TEU) under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyards by the first half of 2024.

HMM shares were trading 0.32 percent lower at 30,700 won Friday.

By Pulse

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