ZIM Remains in Black

Despite historically low container shipping rates, Israel’s cargo shipping company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services managed to stay in the black with an annual net income of USD 6.5 million seen in 2015, compared to a net loss of USD 198.1 million recorded a year earlier.

The company’s operating cash flow at the end of the year was at USD 173 million, an increase from the USD 121 million reported in 2014.

Given that the fourth quarter of 2015 was characterized by a continued deterioration of the market environment and historically low freight rates, the average freight rate per TEU carried was USD 988 in the fourth quarter of 2015 and USD 1,126 for the year, reflecting a 21% and 9% decrease compared to the respective periods in 2014.

As a result of the lower freight rates, ZIM’s revenues for the full year dropped by 12% to USD 2.9 billion, in comparison with USD 3.4 billion seen in 2014.

The comprehensive structural, operational and organizational changes we have implemented in recent years enabled us to achieve operating margins ranked among the top in the industry, despite continued overcapacity and freight rate deterioration,” Rafi Danieli, ZIM’s President & CEO, said.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, ZIM’s net loss was at USD 28 million, while the company’s net loss in the corresponding period in 2014 was at USD 7 million.

The company’s revenues in the quarter decreased by 15% to USD 687 million, while in the corresponding period of 2014 they were at USD 813 million.

The company carried 590 thousands TEUs in the fourth quarter of 2015, reflecting a 5% increase from the numbers seen in same period last year, and a total of 2.3 million TEUs in 2015, reflecting a 2% decrease compared to 2014.

Carried quantities were negatively affected by lower global demand in 2015, offset by the positive contribution of the new Z7S service that ZIM launched earlier in 2015.