P&O NEDLLOYD RAISES PROFIT IN 2ND QUARTER

P&O NEDLLOYD RAISES PROFIT IN 2ND QUARTER

      P&O Nedlloyd Container Line reported an improvement in its profit for the second quarter, following losses in the first quarter.

   Operating profit for the latest quarter was $44 million, compared to an operating loss of $18 million in the second quarter of 1999 and a loss of $14 million in the first quarter of the current year.

   “Despite significantly higher fuel prices it was the most profitable second quarter since P&O Nedlloyd commenced trading,” a spokesman for the Anglo-Dutch carrier said. P&O Nedlloyd was formed at the end of 1996 through the merger of P&O Containers and Nedlloyd Lines.

   Pre-tax profit for the latest quarter was $28 million, as compared to a loss of $32 million in the year-earlier period.

   Revenue was $1 billion, 14 percent more than the $888 million in revenue a year earlier.

   P&O Nedlloyd carried 762,200 TEUs in the latest quarter, up by eight percent. Revenue per TEU increased by 5 percent over the same period, to $1,324, from $1,258.

   P&O Nedlloyd reported “solid growth in volumes in all key trades” and said that its cost savings program was on track.

   “The outlook is positive, with a significant improvement in profits expected for this year,” the carrier said.

   For the first six months of the year, operating profit was $30 million, as compared to an operating loss of $40 million in the year-earlier period. The pre-tax result was a loss of $1 million, compared to a loss of $68 million. Revenue for the six-month period was $1.91 billion, up from $1.72 billion.