OOCL PARENT SEES 35% FALL IN OPERATING PROFIT

OOCL PARENT SEES 35% FALL IN OPERATING PROFIT    Orient Overseas (International) Ltd., the parent company of OOCL, saw its profit from operations fall by 36 percent last year, to $107 million, from $166 million in 2000.
   Revenue declined by 1 percent, to $2.38 billion, from $2.40 billion, even though OOCL carried 11 percent more containers than in 2000. The company said that the divergence between revenue and volume trends “is a reflection of the overall fall in freight rates during the year.”
   Financial costs decreased last year to $46 million, from $48 million in 2000.
   Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. posted an after-tax net profit of $60 million for 2001, down 47 percent from the $112 million earned in 2000.
   The performance recorded for 2001 by Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. and its subsidiaries was “acceptable in the context of the general economic climate,” the company said.
   All trade routes experienced worsening business conditions during 2001.
   The delivery of new containerships in a slow market has meant that “the compound impact upon the general level of freight rates has been extreme,” Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. said.
   The company announced a final dividend per share of 1.5 cents for 2001, down from 3.0 cents in the previous year.
   As the recovery of the container shipping market remains uncertain, the Hong Kong-based group said it would continue to focus for the remainder of this year on efficiency measures and the containment of central and fixed costs.