Bermuda's Textainer Group Holdings, the world's largest lessor of intermodal containers, has reported a first quarter net profit of US$22.5 million, a 29 per cent increase year on year from a 22 per cent increase in revenue to $72.2 million.
The New-York listed company said China's GDP expanded 10.6 per cent in the first quarter and though down from 11.9 per cent for all of 2007, continues to perform strongly.
"However, many of our customers reported a slower growth in cargo bookings in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of last year," said a company statement.
"I am very pleased with our first quarter 2008 results. Overall demand for our containers through March was strong. Textainer's utilisation continued to remain around 93 per cent," said Textainer president and CEO John Maccarone.
"Our container resale segment had the best quarter in its history. First quarter resale income before taxes of $5.2 million, an increase of $3.5 million, or 198 per cent, over the prior year's quarter results of $1.7 million was primarily due to an increase in the number of trading containers we were able to source and sell," said Mr Maccarone.
"One of the highlights of the first quarter was our re-entry into the refrigerated container market segment. Currently 770 units out of the 800 refrigerated containers delivered so far in 2008 have been committed to leases with various shipping lines," he said.
The company also said it has made its first refrigerated container lease with MOL, which took three hundred 40-foot high cube reefer boxes, prompting Textainer to order 1,100 more.
The New-York listed company said China's GDP expanded 10.6 per cent in the first quarter and though down from 11.9 per cent for all of 2007, continues to perform strongly.
"However, many of our customers reported a slower growth in cargo bookings in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of last year," said a company statement.
"I am very pleased with our first quarter 2008 results. Overall demand for our containers through March was strong. Textainer's utilisation continued to remain around 93 per cent," said Textainer president and CEO John Maccarone.
"Our container resale segment had the best quarter in its history. First quarter resale income before taxes of $5.2 million, an increase of $3.5 million, or 198 per cent, over the prior year's quarter results of $1.7 million was primarily due to an increase in the number of trading containers we were able to source and sell," said Mr Maccarone.
"One of the highlights of the first quarter was our re-entry into the refrigerated container market segment. Currently 770 units out of the 800 refrigerated containers delivered so far in 2008 have been committed to leases with various shipping lines," he said.
The company also said it has made its first refrigerated container lease with MOL, which took three hundred 40-foot high cube reefer boxes, prompting Textainer to order 1,100 more.