Japanese carrier ONE to close year with $12 billion profit
Japanese carrier Ocean Network Express (ONE) is all set to report a net profit of $11.8 billion for the full year ending March 31, 2022, compared to $3.5 billion in the previous year on strong cargo demand and improvement of the freight market.
Photo by Andrey Sharpilo on Unsplash
November 1, 2021: Japanese carrier Ocean Network Express (ONE) is all set to report a net profit of $11.8 billion for the full year ending March 31, 2022, compared to $3.5 billion in the previous year on strong cargo demand and improvement of the freight market.
ONE reported a net profit of $6.8 billion for the first half of the year compared to $682 million in H1FY2021.Revenue increased 125 percent to $13.3 billion.
While projecting a net profit of $5 billion for H2, ONE said though demand was still strong, it expected some “volume decrease” around Chinese New Year and other seasonal influences. Full-year revenue is likely to cross $25 billion, an increase of 77 percent.
"The lifting on Asia-North America E/B increased from Q1 due to strong cargo demand and 100% vessel utilization rate was maintained while lifting decreased compared to FY2020 Q2 due to port congestion mainly in the West Coast terminals. The lifting on Asia-Europe W/B increased from Q1 due to strong cargo demand and the vessel utilization rate was maintained at 100%. Both lifting and utilization on Asia-Europe W/B improved compared to FY2020 Q2," the statement said.
With only a 4 percent increase in lifting to 3.2 million TEU, ONE reported a 138 percent increase in Q2 revenue to $7.6 billion. The reason - more than double the average rate of $2,375 per TEU compared to $1,032 per TEU in the previous year.
ONE reported a net profit of $4.2 billion for the second quarter, an increase of 715 percent from $515 million in Q2FY2021.
For the first half of 2021, the lifting was up only 10 percent but the average rate more than doubled to $2,121 per TEU from $1,031 per TEU.
The carrier, however, said operation costs increased due to faster vessel speeds to improve schedule reliability. Vessel delays due to port/terminal congestion continues, which is adding to costs. "Cost-saving initiatives progressed, but additional costs increased due to shoreside and inland congestion." Freight has improved significantly due to increases in both long-term and short-term markets.
ONE has a fleet of 217 vessels with a capacity of 1.6 million TEU at the end of September 30, 2021.
