OOIL Posts $219.2m Loss
HONG Kong-listed Orient Overseas (International) Ltd recorded a $219.2m net loss for the 2016 fiscal year compared with a $283.9m net profit in 2015 as persistent weakness in container freight rates and rising fuel costs hit the bottomline.
Of all the group's geographical segments, Europe saw the biggest drop in revenue for the year to $732.3m from $1bn in 2015.
"As fuel prices rose in the second half of the year, industry performance was badly affected by freight rates that frequently sank below the levels seen in 2009."
Even as container shipping subsidiary Orient Overseas Container Line reported a 9.1% rise in liftings, revenue dropped 9.9% for the 2016 fiscal year.
Its 20,000 teu boxships entering service this year will help it garner more business from the East-West trades.
According to MANA, revenue for 2016 slipped to $5.3bn from $6.0bn in 2015.