South Korea's top container shipper HMM Co. said Thursday its second-quarter operating profit tumbled nearly 95 percent on-year on sluggish shipping rates amid decreased cargo volume.
Operating profit came to 160.2 billion won (US$122 million) in the April-June period, down a whopping 94.5 percent from a year earlier, the shipper said in a regulatory filing.
Sales plunged 57.7 percent on-year to 2.13 trillion won, with net income coming to 312.8 billion won. The on-year comparison of its bottom line was unavailable.
HMM said its operating profit dipped in the second quarter, as shipping rates normalized to pre-pandemic levels amid falling cargo volume.
In the first half of this year, HMM's top line reached 4.21 trillion won, with its net profit and operating income amounting to 610.3 billion won and 466.6 billion won, respectively.
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, a barometer of global freight rates, averaged 983.5 points in the second quarter, down 76.7 percent from a year earlier.
HMM said it will redouble efforts to hone its competitive edge down the road by rationalizing shipping routes and cutting costs.
Shares in HMM closed 2.2 percent higher at 17,680 won on the Seoul bourse Thursday, outperforming the broader Korea Composite Stock Price Index's 0.14 percent decline. The second-quarter results were announced before the market closed.
Source: Yonhap News Agency