DSME to Do Its Utmost to End the Dry Spell

South Korean shipbuilding major Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) will do everything possible to secure an order in the second quarter of the year, Yonhap reports citing the builder’s chief executive officer Jung Sung-leep.

The announcement was made at DSME’s shareholder meeting on Wednesday, March 30th.

The first quarter of the year left Daewoo Shipbuilding without a single order in the bag as owners abstained from new orders prompted by the overall industry downturn and overcapacity.

DSME’s two counterparts, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) had practically the same luck, with the later one managing to score a tanker order from Turkish Ditas Shipping.

Just a week ago, DSME reported a lower full-year loss following an audit of the company’s financial figures. As a result, its full-year loss for 2015 was cut to KRW 3.31 trillion (USD 2.83 billion), substantially lower from KRW 5.13 trillion previously announced.

DSME added that its operating loss was reduced from KRW 5.5 trillion to KRW 2.94 trillion.

Nevertheless, the shipbuilder hopes for a turnaround this year as it projects KRW 500 billion (USD 415 million) in operating profits for the first quarter of this year.

World Maritime News Staff