CSAV 2009 losses near $600 million

CSAV 2009 losses near $600 million    The Chilean ocean carrier CSAV said it had operating losses of $599.7 million in 2009, compared to a loss of $133.5 million in 2008.
   It’s the second staggering loss to be announced by a major container line in recent days, after Maersk Line last week said it lost $2.1 billion in 2009.
   CSAV’s revenue declined nearly 39 percent to $3 billion, while container volume fell nearly 18 percent to 1.8 million TEUs. On a loss-per-TEU basis, CSAV suffered even more than Maersk, losing an average of $333 per TEU, while Maersk lost an average of $152 per TEU.
   CSAV’s freight rates fell 25 percent during the year.
   ‘Despite the improved operating environment, CSAV still faces an uphill task in returning to profitability in 2010,’ said maritime news service Alphaliner. ‘The company’s January 2010 performance showed a 37 percent increase in liftings compared to last year.
   ‘Average rates, however, showed little sign of improvement as CSAV does not have a significant presence in the Asia/Europe and transpacific trade routes, where rates have shown the highest increases in the last two months. The losses sustained in 2009 have completely wiped out the group’s retained earnings and CSAV was forced into a financial restructuring exercise last year. It successfully raised $413 million of new capital from existing shareholders and a further $360 million is due from German ship owners in the first quarter of 2010, under a deal struck last year for the ship owners to convert part of the charter fees due from CSAV into equity.’