Israeli container shipping company ZIM reaped the fruits of the market recovery and returned to the black in the third quarter of 2017 posting a net profit of USD 25.2 million.
The profit was reported against a loss of USD 37.6 million booked in the corresponding quarter of 2016.
“The industry is starting to stabilize after the major changes it has gone through, with the reshaping of the alliances and M&A’s activities that took place during the last years. We saw a positive trend in the industry in the last four quarters, however, market conditions remained challenging and volatile,” the company said.
Higher earnings were boosted by a 19.2 percent increase in average freight rate per TEU, which stood at USD 1,058, in the quarter.
Total revenues for the quarter came at USD 816.7 million, a 26.8 percent increase when compared to USD 643.9 million in Q3 2016.
ZIM carried 688, 000 TEUs in Q3, 10.6 percent more than in the same quarter last year.
For the nine-month period, net profit stood at USD 21.1 million, a major rebound from a net loss of USD 168.1 million in the same period of 2016. The nine-month revenues saw a 17.6 percent jump reaching USD 2,217.4 million.
The average freight rate per TEU was USD 1,008, against USD 898 in the comparable period of 2016, resulting in a 12.2 percent increase.
“ZIM’s encouraging Q3 results are a cause for optimism, and we hope they reflect a momentum that we can keep up in the coming quarters; however, we still face many challenges, including the uncertainty of market conditions, including freight rates & bunker prices,” Eli Glickman, ZIM President & CEO , said.
“I believe we are on the right track, as we continue to outperform the industry thanks to our unrelenting focus on profitability, efficiency and a customer-orientated approach.
We are currently in the process of finalizing our 2018 budget, designed at increasing the pace of our strategy implementation and embracing fresh technological initiatives, as part of our vision to offer our customers new and best-in-market services. “
Image Courtesy: ZIM