Hanjin nets $136 million in 1st quarter

Hanjin nets $136 million in 1st quarter    Hanjin Shipping, Korea’s largest shipping group, started the year with a net income of Won159 billion ($136 million) in the first quarter, marking a large improvement on the Won95 billion loss reported in the first quarter of 2003.
   “Overall increase in transport volume, recovery of freight and constant efforts to cut down costs all contributed to such sharp rebound in financial figures in spite of the seasonal slack of the first quarter,” Hanjin said.
   The operating income jumped to Won162 billion ($139 million) in the latest quarter, up from Won5 billion a year earlier.
   Revenue rose 19 percent to Won1.5 trillion ($1.3 billion) from Won1.2 trillion. The container and bulk shipping company said its first-quarter container carryings increased 3 percent to 638,130 TEUs from 616,740 TEUs.
   In a separate development, Hanjin has disclosed more financial data on its 2003 results, with the publication of consolidated financial figures that include the company’s activities as well as those of subsidiaries such as Senator Lines, Keoyang Shipping and CyberLogitec.
   Hanjin had reported its non-consolidated revenue increased 23 percent in 2003 to Won5.6 trillion ($4.8 billion), as container carrying rose 12.5 percent to 2.59 million TEUs. Non-consolidated operating income rose 36-fold to Won432 billion ($370 million) from Won12 billion in 2002, and non-consolidated net income increased to Won295.2 billion ($246 million) from Won18.5 billion in 2002.
   In the latest statement, Hanjin Shipping said its consolidated revenue for 2003 was Won6.4 billion ($5.3 billion) up 13 percent. Operating income was Won510 billion ($425 million), compared to an operating loss of Won64 billion in 2002. Consolidated net income rose to Won306 billion ($255 million) from Won63 billion.
   The consolidated figures suggest that Hanjin’s subsidiaries made only a marginal contribution overall to the group’s net income.