Average operating margins for the leading container carriers (the nine largest companies reporting Earnings before Interest and Tax or EBIT) reached 38.4% in the latest quarter, equivalent to levels last seen in early 2021.
All carriers saw a leap in margins in the period, but levels were most extraordinary for carriers focusing on Transpacific spot business. Margins for Taiwan’s largest carrier Evergreen topped 50.5% as the carrier more than doubled revenues against a year earlier, and increased quarterly operating profits (EBIT) eightfold to TWD 77.2 bn (USD 2.4 bn).
The second highest result was reported by HMM, which generated a margin of 46.0% on its liner shipping activities versus a margin of just 1.2% a year earlier, a clear indicator of pre- and post-Red Sea crisis conditions.
HMM, around whom sale rumours have started to swirl again, saw average rates per teu rise 116% year-on-year, a quarterly increase beaten only by ZIM. Rate increases have proved more decisive than volume surges in the latest period, with HMM actually posting a small decline in liftings year-on-year.
Source: Alphaliner
