The global slump in liner trades has taken its toll on Orient Overseas Container Line, after the Hong Kong-based carrier saw revenues crash 31.2% to $954.2m in the first quarter of this year, down from almost $1.4bn in the previous corresponding period. This followed a 15.6% slide in liftings to 978,162 teu, compared with nearly 1.2m teu a year earlier.
The biggest slide in revenue was on Asia-Europe services which more than halved, falling by 56.4% to $149.8m between January and March, against $343.5m in the same period last year. By comparison, liftings on the trade dropped by just 14.4% to 164,300 teu, down from 191,904 teu.
Intra-Asia and Australasian trades also took a hammering with revenues falling 30.4% to $263.2m, while container volumes dropped 16.5% to 449,107 teu.
Revenues from transatlantic services dropped 22.4% to $131.2m, down from $168.9m, following a 14.4% fall in liftings to 85,378 teu.
Transpacific services saw a 17.4% revenue slump to $409.9m, compared with $496.6m a year earlier. Container volumes fell 15.2% to 279,377 teu.
The company said the overall load factor dropped 11% in the first quarter compared with last year, while the overall average revenue per teu decreased by 18.5% against the same period last year.
There was a 1.2% decrease in loadable capacity as vessels were temporarily parked or returned to owners.
The first quarter operating results were released nearly a month after the parent company Orient Overseas (International) said underlying net profit halved last year to $272.3m as a result of higher costs and a drop in demand for OOCL’s liner shipping services.
Responding to the crash in box volumes, chief financial officer Ken Cambie said OOCL would cut operating capacity to 364,444 teu by the end of March, compared with 373,096 teu at the end of last year.
Overall, OOCL planned to slash capacity by 20% by the end of this year by redelivering chartered-in tonnage and suspending services. Mr Cambie said there would be a 5.3% cut in fleet growth.
The biggest slide in revenue was on Asia-Europe services which more than halved, falling by 56.4% to $149.8m between January and March, against $343.5m in the same period last year. By comparison, liftings on the trade dropped by just 14.4% to 164,300 teu, down from 191,904 teu.
Intra-Asia and Australasian trades also took a hammering with revenues falling 30.4% to $263.2m, while container volumes dropped 16.5% to 449,107 teu.
Revenues from transatlantic services dropped 22.4% to $131.2m, down from $168.9m, following a 14.4% fall in liftings to 85,378 teu.
Transpacific services saw a 17.4% revenue slump to $409.9m, compared with $496.6m a year earlier. Container volumes fell 15.2% to 279,377 teu.
The company said the overall load factor dropped 11% in the first quarter compared with last year, while the overall average revenue per teu decreased by 18.5% against the same period last year.
There was a 1.2% decrease in loadable capacity as vessels were temporarily parked or returned to owners.
The first quarter operating results were released nearly a month after the parent company Orient Overseas (International) said underlying net profit halved last year to $272.3m as a result of higher costs and a drop in demand for OOCL’s liner shipping services.
Responding to the crash in box volumes, chief financial officer Ken Cambie said OOCL would cut operating capacity to 364,444 teu by the end of March, compared with 373,096 teu at the end of last year.
Overall, OOCL planned to slash capacity by 20% by the end of this year by redelivering chartered-in tonnage and suspending services. Mr Cambie said there would be a 5.3% cut in fleet growth.