[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] HMM, South Korea's largest container carrier, posted its best performance since its foundation on the back of improved shipping market.

HMM announced on the 13th that its consolidated operating profit stood at 9.9455 trillion won last year, up 35% from a year earlier. Sales also rose 35 percent year-on-year to 18.5868 trillion won, while net profit also jumped 89 percent to 10.662 trillion won. On the other hand, the debt ratio has been lowered to 26%.

However, since the second half of last year, fares for all Asian-American routes, including Europe, have been on the decline due to slowing demand and normalization of supply. The Shanghai Container Fare Index (SCFI), a global maritime fare index, fell from an average of 5,067 in January last year to an average of 1,129 in December of that year. 

 

The HMM predicted that demand will inevitably slow down this year due to weak consumer sentiment stemming from the global economic recession, including inflation, interest rate hikes and energy crises. As of the 10th of this month, SCFI recorded 995.16, down 11.73 points from the previous week.

 

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