LOSS WIDENS FOR NOL/APL
Neptune Orient Lines, the parent company of APL, said its net loss widened
to 438.16 million Singapore dollars (US$265 million) last year, compared with 297.3
million Singapore dollars in 1997.
The company said, however, that it expects to turn a profit this year.
NOL blamed last year’s results on an 8-percent drop in container rates,
increased repositioning costs as a result of Asian economic problems, and
restructuring costs from the company’s late-1997 merger with APL.
The company had revenue last year of S$6.49 billion (US$3.93 billion) last
year, up from 2.67 billion in 1997.