Hanjin reports loss, less revenue in second quarter

   Hanjin Shipping reported a 199.8 billion Korean won ($194.6 million)
loss in the second quarter, compared to an 80.4 billion
loss in the same period last year.
   Total second-quarter sales were 2.1 billion won, 14-percent lower
than the 2.5 billion won recorded in the same 20013 period. The company
did record an operating profit of 29 billion Korean won in the second
quarter, as compared to a 98 billion won loss in the second quarter of
2013. It attributed the operating profit to improvement in its container
division.
   The company’s container division had an operating profit of 37.5
billion won for the quarter, a turnaround from the same period last year,
when the division had a 73.3 billion won loss.
   The profit in the container division was achieved even though
container volume in the quarter — 1,142,763 TEU — was 5.4-percent lower
than in the second quarter of 2013; second-quarter container revenue of 1.9 trillion won was 11.7-percent lower than in the same 2013
period.
   The company said the operating profit in the container business was
“a result of various cost-cutting efforts such as rationalization of
unprofitable routes, bunker price saving, and reduction of operating
costs.”
   Looking forward to the second half of this year, Hanjin said it was
forecasting an increase in volume “as the high season in container market
comes along. … Profit improvement is expected as additional rate
restorations will take place.”
   In its bulk business, which had a 24.9 billion won loss in the second
quarter, Hanjin predicted that an “increase of iron ore export from
major exporters and crop export from the U.S. is likely to normalized
the market gradually.”