HMM Posts 613.9 Billion KRW Operating Profit in Q1, Up 51% Year-on-Year

Sales Up 23%, Operating Margin at 21.5%
"Preparing for Uncertainty with Flexible Fleet Operations"

HMM announced on May 14 that, on a consolidated basis, its sales for the first quarter of this year reached 2.8547 trillion KRW, with operating profit at 613.9 billion KRW. These figures represent increases of 23% and 51%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

13,000 TEU-class container ship HMM Ganit. Provided by HMM

Net profit for the period rose by 52% to 739.7 billion KRW, and the operating margin stood at 21.5%, up 4 percentage points from the same period last year.

HMM explained that its efforts to increase cargo volume proved effective amid ongoing trade tensions caused by the United States' protectionist tariff policies. These efforts included fleet expansion, the launch of new services (across the Atlantic and India·Northern Europe), and strengthening operations in regions less affected by tariffs.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) fell from an average of 2,010 points in the first quarter of last year to an average of 1,762 points in the first quarter of this year. The downward trend has continued since the beginning of this year, with the index remaining at around 1,300 points at the end of the first quarter.

HMM expects demand-side uncertainty to intensify as the impact of the United States' country-specific tariff negotiations becomes more pronounced. The company also forecasts increased supply chain volatility due to factors such as the expansion of global shipping capacity, the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) scrutiny of China’s shipping and shipbuilding industries, and uncertainty over the reopening of the Suez Canal. In particular, HMM anticipates that a decrease in cargo volume from China to North America will cause supply-demand instability and lead to a downward trend in freight rates.

To strengthen its competitiveness, HMM has been sequentially receiving delivery of nine 9,000 TEU-class methanol-fueled eco-friendly container ships ordered in 2023 since March of this year, and plans to deploy all of them into service by the first half of next year.

An HMM official stated, "Based on our mid- to long-term plan for 2030, we will prepare for uncertain market conditions by securing our fleet, flexibly operating vessels in response to regional supply and demand changes, identifying high-profit cargo in the bulk segment, and reducing costs through digitalization."

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