HMM Co., South Korea's top container shipper, said Monday its 2022 earnings jumped nearly 89 percent from a year earlier on high shipping rates and lower costs, according to Yonhap.
Consolidated net profit came to 10.07 trillion won (US$7.9 billion) last year, up 88.6 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Sales surged 35 percent on-year to 18.59 trillion won, with operating profit also soaring 35 percent to 9.95 trillion won.
HMM said its 2022 earnings were the highest since its predecessor, Hyundai Merchant Marine, was set up in 1976.
The shipping company attributed last year's record performance mainly to high freight rates on all routes. Also responsible were reduced costs stemming from the mobilization of very large vessels.
Yet, HMM painted a rather grim picture of this year's business, saying a sharp drop in shipping rates could lead to lower earnings this year.
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, a short-term barometer of global freight rates, tumbled to 1,129 points in December last year from 5,067 at the start of the year.
Shares in HMM ended 2.51 percent down at 21,400 won on the Seoul bourse Monday, underperforming the broader KOSPI's 0.69 percent drop. The earnings report was released after the market closed.