HUAL BOOSTS HOEGH GROUP’S RESULTS
Leif Hoegh & Co., the Norwegian shipping group, reported a net profit of $21.7 million for 2000, as compared to a net annual loss of $37.7 million in the previous year. The rebound in profitability came largely from HUAL, the car-carrying business now wholly-owned by the Hoegh group.
Group operating profit before gains on sale of vessels and depreciation increased by 95 percent last year, to $124.6 million, from $64.2 million in 1999. Operating profit after gains on sale of vessels and depreciation more than doubled, to $56.6 million, from $22.9 million. Group revenues increased to $773.6 million, from $486.1 million in 1999.
“Increasing focus was put on the roll-on/roll-off segment through the acquisition in HUAL and the gas segment through the rebuilding of H'egh Galleon,” a spokesman for Hoegh said.
HUAL returned an operating profit after gains on sale of vessels and depreciation of $46 million for 2000, up from $37 million in 1999, while revenues rose to $408 million last year, from $227 million.
Hoegh Lines had an operating profit of $2 million in 2000, up from a loss of $5 million in 1999, as revenues increased to $131 million, from $126 million. Hoegh Lines will be taken over by Egon Oldendorff, its new owner, in March.
Unicool, the reefer arm of the Hoegh group, posted an operating profit of $4 million for 2000, as compared to a deficit of $9 million in 1999, with revenues of $174 million last year.
The operating profit of Hoegh’s dry bulk shipping arm was similar to the result for 1999 and reflected the long-term charterparties for the two owned Capesize bulk vessels.
Hoegh said that the improvement in group results came largely as a result of investments made in HUAL, but contract shipping in the form of gas and dry bulk and the reefer vessels also contributed positively.
“The liner operation of Hoegh Lines got a negative result in its last full operating year within Leif Hoegh & Co., while the open hatch vessels performed better than last year,” a spokesman said. “The higher bunker prices in 2000 increased operating costs by approximately $15 million.”
The Hoegh group sold Cool Carriers AB — the commercial operation of Unicool — to the J. Lauritzen group in January 2001 for $35.4 million.
The Hoegh group said that it expects lower global growth in 2001, which at the outset will dampen the demand growth in several segments in which it is involved. The group’s focus this year will continue to be on HUAL and the industrial ro/ro segment, it said.