HMM Q1 Operating Profit 3 Trillion Won... "Best Quarterly Performance Ever"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] HMM achieved its best quarterly performance ever in the first quarter. The increase in freight rates across all routes had an impact.

On the 13th, HMM announced that its first-quarter sales and operating profit reached 4.9187 trillion KRW and 3.1486 trillion KRW, respectively, representing increases of 103% and 209% compared to the same period last year. Net profit for the period was 3.1317 trillion KRW.

The significant improvement in market conditions was influenced by rising freight rates not only on the Asia-Americas routes but also on Europe and other routes. The comprehensive container freight index SCFI averaged 4851 points in the first quarter, up 74.5% from the 2780 points average in the first quarter of last year. Additionally, cost structure improvements such as route rationalization and cargo cost reduction, combined with the effect of freight rate increases, enabled both the container business and bulk sectors to achieve operating profits.

HMM plans to continuously strive to secure high-quality shippers, enhance operational efficiency, and refine cost reduction measures to build competitiveness at the level of global shipping companies.

A company official stated, "The first half of this year still faces uncertainties in the global trade environment due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, prolonged lockdown measures in major cities caused by China’s zero-COVID policy, and US-China tensions. HMM is continuously deploying temporary vessels and, as a leading national shipping company, is committed to ensuring that export companies’ cargo is transported safely and without disruption."

Meanwhile, HMM’s twelve 13,000 TEU ultra-large container ships currently under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries are scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2024. The company plans to establish a sustainable management system through stable additional cargo acquisition efforts, internal capacity enhancement, and improvement of its sales structure.

Furthermore, HMM aims to strengthen its ESG management system by continuously investing not only in financial performance through management innovation such as providing differentiated customer-centric shipping services and IT system improvements but also in non-financial areas including environment, labor, human rights, ethics, and social contribution.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.