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[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] HMM, South Korea's largest container shipping company, which failed to acquire Harim Group, posted poor performance last year in the wake of the shipping industry's slump.
HMM announced on the 14th that its consolidated operating profit fell 94% year-on-year to 584.9 billion won last year.
Sales fell 55% to 8.4 trillion won. Net profit for the term fell 90 percent to 1.63 trillion won.
The HMM explained that since COVID-19, the normalization of supply and slowing demand have led to a drop in fares across all routes, including the Americas and Europe, leading to a drop in performance.
HMM recorded its best performance in 2022, with operating profit of 9.9455 trillion won and operating profit ratio of 53.5%, thanks to the booming shipping industry following the COVID-19.
However, HMM stressed that it continued its surplus for 15 consecutive quarters until the fourth quarter of last year, and that its net profit for the current term was the largest except for 2021 and 2022, which are the COVID-19 special periods. In addition, the operating profit ratio of 7% last year was the "top" among global shipping companies, and the debt ratio also dropped from 25% to 20% at the end of 2022.
The HMM said the outlook for this year is not bright due to uncertain external variables such as delays in China's economic recovery, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Middle East conflict and restrictions on the passage of the Suez Canal.
It is also said that it is difficult to expect a rise in fares due to a sharp increase in supply due to the delivery of new ships ordered over the past two to three years.
AlphaBIZ 김지선(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
