ZIM records profit of $4.6m for Q4 2016

The Israeli ocean carrier’s revenues for the fourth quarter of 2016 totaled $653.5 million, down from $687 million for the fourth quarter of 2015.    Israeli ocean carrier ZIM generated a net profit of $4.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to a net loss of $28 million for the fourth quarter of 2015.
   Revenues for the quarter amounted to $653.5 million, down from $687 million for the fourth quarter of 2015.
   For the full year of 2016, ZIM reported a net loss of $163.5 million on revenues of $2.54 billion, compared to a net profit of $6.5 million on revenues of $2.99 billion for 2015.
   ZIM President and CEO Rafi Danieli said, “In spite of the very challenging market conditions in 2016, our results continued to improve.”
   Danieli pointed to the fact that the company’s container volumes rose 3.9 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2016 to 613,000 TEUs, and 5.2 percent year-over-year for the full year of 2016 to 2.4 million TEUs.
   The company said freight rates were stronger in the fourth quarter, averaging $915 per TEU, up 3.2 percent from the third quarter of 2016. But for the full year, the average freight rate stood at $902 per TEU, nearly 20 percent lower than in 2015.
   Danieli said, “We continue to improve ZIM’s network and to react rapidly to changing market conditions. Starting April 2017, in response to the changes in the alliances’ setup, ZIM will introduce an upgraded, efficient new network, with new services in the Asia-America, Asia-Med and Med-America trades.”