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Third-quarter total revenues of US$5.04 billion 16.9% higher than the $4.31 billion a year ago
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Revenues were 5% lower than in the second quarter, when OOCL overcame severe port congestions to register record $5.29 billion
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Total liftings declined 3.4% y-o-y and loadable capacity contracted 1.8% y-o-y, while the overall load factor fell 1.4% y-o-y
Orient Overseas Container Line has posted revenue of US$5.04 billion for the third quarter ending September 30, up 16.9% from the $4.31 billion a year ago but lower than last quarter, as the shipping industry sees revenues hit by soft demand.
Third-quarter revenue was 5% lower than in the second quarter, when OOCL overcame severe port congestions to register record revenues of US$5.29 billion, a 52.4% surge from US$3.47 billion in the same quarter last year.
The unaudited results were announced on October 7 by OOCL’s parent, Orient Overseas (International) Limited, in a disclosure to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The OOIL board advised investors that the operational update was based on the group’s internal records and management accounts and has not been audited.
“Investors are cautioned not to rely unduly on the operational update for the third quarter ended 30th September 2022. Investors are advised to exercise caution in dealing in the shares of the company,” OOIL company secretary Xiao Junguang said in the disclosure.
Total liftings and loadable capacity decreased 3.4% and 1.8%, respectively, the terse two-paragraph announcement said. The overall load factor was 1.4% lower than during the same period in 2021.
Overall average revenue per TEU increased by 21.1% compared with the third quarter last year. Revenue per TEU reflected still high long-term shipping rates that were unaffected by a steady slide in spot rates as demand weakened.
For the nine months to September 30, total revenues grew 43.4% to $15.49 billion and total liftings decreased 6.2% to 5,583,008 TEUs from 5,736,979 in the same period last year.
Loadable capacity contracted by 4.9% and the overall load factor was 1.2% lower than in the same quarter in 2021. Average revenue per TEU surged 52.9% compared with the same period last year, still reflecting the high rates.
OOCL’s shrinking total liftings and overall load factor echo an industry-wide decline as weakening demand in the US and Europe due to high inflation are prompting traders to cut on imports, leaving about 40% of unused capacity on Asia-US and Asia-Europe voyages, prompting operators to blank sailings in a bid to halt a steady fall in spot rates.
