Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) was the only listed container shipping company in Taiwan to post a net profit in the second quarter of the year on the back of its focus on regional routes in Asia, which showed steady growth in trade volume.
Wan Hai, the nation’s third-largest container shipping company in terms of fleet size, outperformed the sector by posting a net profit of NT$426.9 million (US$14.21 million), or NT$0.19 per share, from April to June, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The second-quarter results showed a decline from a net income of NT$1.34 billion, or NT$0.61 per share, in the same period last year, company data showed.
However, the company’s focus on the Asian market and shorter intra-regional routes were key factors in helping it maintain profitability in the first half of the year, when its peers, with their higher exposure to long-haul routes, faced tougher headwinds during the same period.
Wan Hai saw net profit reach NT$551.78 million, or NT$0.25 per share, in the first six months of the year, compared with NT$950.11 million, or NT$0.43 per share, recorded a year earlier, company data showed.
The nation’s two other major shipping companies both recorded losses in the second quarter, albeit an improvement from the results in the first quarter.
Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), the nation’s largest container shipping company, reported consolidated losses of NT$400.54 million in the April-to-June period, or a loss of NT$0.12 per share.
Net losses in the first six months of the year amounted to NT$2.24 billion, or a loss per share of NT$0.64, the company’s stock exchange filing showed.
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), the nation’s second-biggest container shipping company, also saw net losses of NT$2.64 billion, or N$0.81 per share, in the second quarter, raising net losses in the first half of this year to NT$5.32 billion, or NT$1.62 per share, company data showed.
However, earlier this week, Yang Ming chairman Frank Lu (盧峰海) said the company may return to the black this quarter, citing the successful move by major global container shippers to raise peak season surcharges in US routes last month.
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