OOCL vessel

Orient Overseas International Limited (OOIL), one of theworld’s largest integrated container transport businesses, has attributed asteep upturn in its profits this year to improved global demand for containertransportation that could see the industry return to profitability in 2010.

The Hong Kong-headquartered firm, which trades under thename OOCL, posted a 262 per cent rise in operating profit for the six monthsending 30 June to US$310m (€244m), a 32 per cent increase in revenue to US$667.5m (€525m) and 11.6 per cent growth in liftings to 2.2m TEUs compared to the prior-yearperiod. OOIL officials credited an upswing in demand and freight rates acrossall trade lanes with the improved results.

In a press release, OOIL chairman Mr C C Tung said:“Following last year’s extremely difficult trading conditions, 2010 startedpositively for the container transportation sector with an improvedsupply/demand balance and upward pressure on freight rates. Despite the modestpace of the global economic recovery, we have seen rapid growth in demand over thefirst six months of the year.”

Strong demand for container transport helped increase andhold rates at levels that will see the industry return to profitability in2010, he added.

However, Mr Tung warned that the industry was not out of thewoods yet, since the strength of consumer demand in the second half of the yearremained unclear and freight rates continued to be fragile with significantnew-build capacity still to be absorbed before year-end.

Nonetheless, OOCL would continue to seekto meet its customers’ needs and expectations through the reintroduction oftonnage on its various trade routes as market conditions improve, he said.

Kenneth Cambie,OOIL chief financial officer, added that the group was running a highlevel of liquidity following the sale of OODL, and would continue to do sowhile it looked for strategic opportunities to expand OOCL’s operations inaddition to normal organic growth.

During the first half of 2010, OOCL took delivery of five“P” Class 4,578 TEU Panamax size vessels (OOCL Le Havre, OOCL Charleston, OOCLGuangzhou, OOCL Savannah, & OOCL Jakarta) and four “SX” Class 8,063 TEUvessels (OOCL Seoul, OOCL Washington, OOCL London, and OOCL Luxembourg), Mr Cambierevealed. These deliveries completed the existing orders with Samsung HeavyIndustries Co Ltd in South Korea.