Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) yesterday reported net profit of NT$30.14 billion (US$1 billion) for the second quarter, up 58.68 percent from a year earlier, but down 25.78 percent from a quarter earlier.
Last quarter's net profit was the lowest in the past four quarters, company data showed.
Earnings per share (EPS) were NT$8.57 in the second quarter, compared with NT$8.56 a year earlier and NT$16.64 in the first quarter.
Photo: CNA
The container shipper attributed its quarterly decrease in net profit to a fall in sea freight demand due to some countries’ COVID-19 prevention measures, high inflation pressure and manufacturers’ inventory adjustment, it said in a statement.
The results came as the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, a barometer of sea freight rates, has declined for eight weeks in a row.
Wan Hai’s revenue stood at NT$75.13 billion in the second quarter, up 56.46 percent year-on-year, but down 6.68 percent from a quarter earlier.
Cumulative revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$155.63 billion, up 79.64 percent annually, while accumulated net profit was NT$70.75 billion, up 110.03 percent annually, company data showed.
Gross margin tallied 60.01 percent for the first six months, compared with 51.59 percent a year earlier, data showed.
Wan Hai said that market visibility remains murky, but congestion at seaports would remain in the third quarter, while sea cargo capacity would continue to be limited.
The shipper has received four new ships, each with capacity of 2,038 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first half of this year, and plans to take delivery of another eight vessels — six with 3,013 TEU capacity and two with 3,100 TEU capacity — by the end of next year.
Larger rival Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) on Friday reported net profit of NT$102.29 billion for the second quarter, up 143.22 percent from a year earlier, with EPS of NT$19.33, the highest in a single quarter on record.
First-half profit grew 160.32 percent to NT$203.65 billion, with EPS of NT$38.49, up from NT$15.03 a year earlier.
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