Orient Overseas Sees Quarterly Boost in Revenue, Bottom Line Likely Still Black [REPORT]

OOCL Vancouver berthed at the Port of Qingdao, image: OOCL

HONG KONG–Container shipper Orient Overseas (International) Ltd.’s (0316.HK) second-quarter revenue rose 10.6% from a year earlier, the Hong Kong-listed company said Friday, as freight rates and shipping volume rose during the period.

The company, which is controlled by the family of former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, said its revenue for the three months ended June 30 rose to US$1.56 billion from US$1.41 billion, boosted by a 3.7% increase in average revenue per 20-foot-equivalent unit, or TEU. The company doesn’t report quarterly profit figures.

Orient Overseas’ total shipping volume during the quarter rose 6.7% to 1.34 million TEUs from 1.26 million TEUs.

Orient Overseas, which ships finished and semi-finished goods ranging from toys to garments to the West from Asia, said in March it expected trading conditions in 2012 to remain tough. It posted a 90% fall in 2011 net profit, as high fuel costs and overcapacity continued to weigh on its bottom line.

– Joanne Chiu, Dow Jones Newswires