YANG MING BUCKS TREND WITH IMPROVED 2002 OPERATING INCOME

YANG MING BUCKS TREND WITH IMPROVED 2002 OPERATING INCOME    Yang Ming Marine Transport, the Taiwanese shipping group, bucked the adverse trend of the global container shipping market last year by improving its operating income, to NT$160 million ($5 million).
   The modest operating income for 2002 compares with an operating deficit of NT$814 million in 2001.
   The company’s operating revenues edged up slightly in 2002, to NT$45.5 billion ($1.3 billion), from NT$45.4 billion in the previous year.
   Net income for 2002 amounted to NT$1.1 billion ($33 million), a sharp improvement on the prior-year loss of NT$675 million.
   Most shipping companies involved in liner shipping have suffered lower operating profits or net profits for 2002, following the slide of freight rates. The 2002 results of Yang Ming and 14 other linershipping companies are posted on the global liner shipping database ComPairData.