|
Zim loses US$322 million in 2008, down from $23 million profit
2009/4/9
ISRAELI shipping line Zim Integrated Shipping Services has recorded a loss of US$322 million in 2008, down from a profit of $23 million a year earlier, on the back of higher fuel bills, a write off for reduced ship values and lower fourth quarter cargo volume.
Zim suffered a fourth quarter loss of $199 million partly due to a $95 million provision for a decline in the value of property, plant and equipment.
Revenue increased by 13.6 per cent in 2008 to $4.3 billion and cargo volume rose by 5.9 per cent to 2.52 million TEU, up from 2.38 million TEU. This is said to have offset a decline in fourth quarter traffic to 584,000 TEU, down from 631,000 TEU in the fourth quarter of 2007, and a 12.4 per cent drop in fourth quarter 2008 revenues to $925 million, reports Newark''s Journal of Commerce.
Parent company Israel Corporation said the difficult conditions in the container shipping market are continuing to have an adverse impact on operations, "its compliance with financial covenants and its ability to raise money, as well as its financing conditions."
Zim is in negotiations with shipyards to cancel or delay deliveries of containerships. It has laid up over 20 per cent of its fleet and expects to idle more vessels through the course of the year and will return ships as they come off charter, the report said.
|
2009/4/9