Hanjin reports loss, less revenue in second quarter

   Hanjin Shipping reported a 199.8 billion Korean won ($194.6 million) loss in the second quarter, compared to an 80.4 billion loss in the same period last year.
   Total second-quarter sales were 2.1 billion won, 14-percent lower than the 2.5 billion won recorded in the same 20013 period. The company did record an operating profit of 29 billion Korean won in the second quarter, as compared to a 98 billion won loss in the second quarter of 2013. It attributed the operating profit to improvement in its container division.
   The company’s container division had an operating profit of 37.5 billion won for the quarter, a turnaround from the same period last year, when the division had a 73.3 billion won loss.
   The profit in the container division was achieved even though container volume in the quarter — 1,142,763 TEU — was 5.4-percent lower than in the second quarter of 2013; second-quarter container revenue of 1.9 trillion won was 11.7-percent lower than in the same 2013 period.
   The company said the operating profit in the container business was “a result of various cost-cutting efforts such as rationalization of unprofitable routes, bunker price saving, and reduction of operating costs.”
   Looking forward to the second half of this year, Hanjin said it was forecasting an increase in volume “as the high season in container market comes along. … Profit improvement is expected as additional rate restorations will take place.”
   In its bulk business, which had a 24.9 billion won loss in the second quarter, Hanjin predicted that an “increase of iron ore export from major exporters and crop export from the U.S. is likely to normalized the market gradually.”