HMM's operating profit in black after 7th quarter

HMM's " Hyundai Masan "

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) announced it showed strength in its liner business while its tramper business performance was weak.

HMM achieved double-digit growth in revenue in the third quarter, but poor results caused weak operating profit.

The Korean carrier saw its revenue in the third quarter reach KRW 2.1214 trillion, up by 12.1% from KRW 1.8916 trillion compared with the third quarter in 2011.

Operating profit improved to KRW 28.6 billion, turning into the black from KRW -98.7 billion a year ago. The 7-quarter-long consecutive deficit was finally over this quarter.

HMM announced its sales costs were KRW 2.330 trillion, increasing 7.8% from KRW 1.8860 trillion in the third quarter of 2011. Especially, fuel expenses grew 16.3% over the year.

Meanwhile, sector by sector, the company announced its container liner sector saw KRW 1.5320 trillion of revenue and KRW 72 billion in operating profit this quarter. Revenue increased by 13.6% from KRW 1.3490 trillion a year ago, and operating profit turned into the black in the 6th quarter.

The container cargo traffic of HMM amounted to 781,000 TEU, climbing slightly by 0.9%. The fleet utilization ratio measured 96% on Pacific trades and 92% on Asia-Europe trades.

However the company is still in the red for the tramper sector. That business division saw revenue steady at KRW 276 billion and operating losses reached KRW -45 billion for dry bulk. In addition, for tankers, revenue and operating losses were KRW 218 billion and KRW -25 billion, respectively.

HMM analyzed that the excessive competition in the bulker market has expanded and BDI and WS have decreased more. < 김보람 기자 brkim@ksg.co.kr >