“K” Line sets higher profit targets

“K” Line sets higher profit targets

“K” Line sets higher profit targets

   Japanese ocean carrier Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. has set a net income target of Yen70 billion ($589 million) for 2008 as part of a revised five-year management plan. The revised figures are about 9 percent higher than the original April 2004 forecast.

   “K” Line said its forecast required updating to reflect its fleet expansion and “numerous structural changes, particularly in China, and due to high fuel oil price.”

   The company’s “K” Line Vision 2008 includes a net income target of Yen53 billion ($446 million) for 2006 and Yen60 billion ($505 million) for 2007. “K” Line also included a mid-2010 target of Yen100 billion ($842 million) net income.

   The plan forecasts a rise in “K” Line’s containership fleet from 78 ships transporting 2.5 million TEUs in 2005 to 90 vessels moving 3.4 million TEUs in 2008. The mid-2010 plan is for 120 vessels moving 4.5 million TEUs.