Container liner APL, a subsidiary of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), reported core earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) profit of US$55 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $88 million in the same period a year ago, largely on gains from cost savings and improved operational efficiency.
“We were able to move more with a smaller fleet capacity, and reduced bunker fuel consumption,” said APL president Kenneth Glenn. “These efficiency gains, coupled with our fleet modernization programme, are the reasons our unit costs have improved significantly.”
APL achieved revenue of $6 billion for the first three quarters of 2012, a year-on-year increase of 2 percent, on the back of a 3 percent rise in volume.
Meanwhile, APL Logistics, NOL’s supply chain management business, reported a third quarter core EBIT of $19 million, up 19 percent from the same period a year ago. The unit’s third quarter revenue of $365 million is up 10 percent from 2011’s same quarter.
Jim McAdam, APL Logistics president, said they are planning to grow through strategic investments. “Our acquisition of the APLL-Zhiqin Group will significantly increase APL Logistics’ domestic footprint in China. Our service network will expand to nearly 80 offices and hub facilities nationwide.”
Singapore-based NOL in a statement on October 25 reported group net earnings of $50 million for the third quarter of 2012, a $141 million turnaround from the $91 million net loss in the third quarter of 2011.
It was the first time since the fourth quarter of 2010 that the global container shipping and logistics group posted a net profit, which it attributed to increased cost and business efficiencies, stable rates, and volume growth.
The company said it saved $360 million through its cost and efficiency drive in the first three quarters of 2012 as it gears toward a full-year goal of $500 million.
The group’s core EBIT profit for the third quarter was $74 million, compared to a core EBIT loss of $72 million in the same quarter a year ago.
But despite NOL’s improved third quarter results, it forecasts a full-year loss for 2012, noting the weak macro-economic outlook, the group’s first quarter setback, and a container shipping industry thatcontinues to face overcapacity and high fuel prices.
Photo courtesy of NOL
