Zim earns profit as rates, volumes rise

Zim earns profit as rates, volumes rise    Container carrier Zim said it had second quarter net income of $3 million compared to a $186 million loss in the second quarter of 2009.
   The Israeli carrier said revenue for the quarter ending June 30 was $933 million, 72 percent higher than the $543 million in the comparable quarter of 2009.
   Average freight rates in the second quarter was $1,328 per TEU, 26 percent higher than the $1,057 per TEU in the second quarter of 2009.    The company carried about 547,000s TEUs in the most recent quarter, compared to about 438,000 TEUs in the year-earlier period.
   The company's second quarter operating income of about $46 million compared to an operating loss of $224 million in the 2009 period.
   “This is the first time since the economic crisis that Zim has reported positive operating income. These results were achieved not only owing to the dramatic improvement in the market conditions in the container shipping sector but also as a result of the internal efficiency program and structural changes implemented by the company,” the company said.
   'Last year, Zim completed complex global financial restructuring, the execution of which required, among other things, a massive injection of capital by Zim's main shareholder, Israel Corp.,” said Nir Gilad, Zim's chairman and chief executive officer of Israel Corp. Israel Corp. owns 99 percent of Zim.
   “The dramatic improvement that Zim has achieved in the second quarter confirms that Israel Corp.'s strategic decision, which was in its own interest, to support Zim by injecting this massive capital, which was also authorized by the General Assembly, has proven itself so far,” he said. ' Chris Dupin