COSCO showed an unusually strong result in the quarter, becoming the only carrier to significantly improve its finances compared to the first three months of the year
Average operating margins for the leading container carriers fell into the single digits for the first time in three years in the second quarter of 2023, coming in at 8.9%.
The figure compares to an average margin of 13.1% in the previous quarter and 56.3% a year earlier.
Israeli carrier ZIM posted the weakest operating margin among the main carriers in the period after logging negative earnings before tax and interest of USD –147 M equivalent to an operating margin of –11.2%.
However, COSCO showed an unusually strong result in the quarter, becoming the only carrier to significantly improve its finances compared to the first three months of the year.
COSCO (including OOCL) generated an operating margin of 27.0% for the quarter, achieving an average margin for the first half of the year of 23.5%.
Source: Alphaliner
