Orient Overseas International (OOIL) turned around its loss from 2016, posting a bottom line figure of $138m for 2017. OOIL’s revenues were 15.3% higher at $6,108m and its EBIT was $251m (2016: -$120m)
OOIL had a good year in both European and US bound trades. Its overall liftings were up 3.6% overall, but 16.3% on Trans-Pacific and 19.7% on Asia-Europe.
The Chairman of OOIL, Mr C C Tung, said, “The economic backdrop for 2017 was more robust than forecasters had expected. Following a decade of low growth, we saw healthier performance in both GDP and trade volumes across most of the world’s major economies. This was a welcome change after the industry’s low point of 2016. This synchronicity of growth, a rare phenomenon in recent memory, may bode well for the sustainability of the recovery. However, growth on the supply side continues across the trade lanes. Even if the ordering of new vessels remains muted in relative terms, upsizing of capacity continues in certain key routes. Ultra-large vessels ordered in the past few years are now being delivered and brought into operation. Furthermore, as trade growth improves, the industry continues to introduce additional services using cascaded or previously idled capacity.”
Source: OOCL
