Samudera’s first half profit up 31%

Samudera’s first half profit up 31% Samudera Shipping Line reported a 30.5 percent rise in first half net income to S$13.6 million ($9 million), up from S$10.4 million last year, following an improved foreign exchange rate and lower costs.
   The Singapore-based company benefited from a foreign exchange gain of S$300,000 ($1 million), compared to a foreign exchange loss of S$6.8 million reported in the same period last year. Operating costs for the period declined 19.9 percent to S$251.2 million ($165 million), mainly due to lower stevedoring, commission, charter-hire, bunker expenses and port charges arising primarily from the discontinuation of the loss-making China-India-Middle East Express (CIX) service and reduction in number of vessels deployed on the China-India Service (CSI), from three to one.
   As a result of the service cuts, Samudera’s container volume for the six months dropped 4.4 percent to 694,400 TEUs.
   First half revenue from container shipping slumped 23.1 percent to S$240.9 million ($158 million) on the lower volumes, a weaker U.S. dollar, and a fall in overall average freight rates. A 32.9 percent hike in revenue from Samudera’s industrial shipping business –S$31.5 million ($21 million) — softened the group revenue drop to 18.5 percent at S$278.3 million ($182 million).