CP SHIPS FIRST-QUARTER NET INCOME UP 218%

CP SHIPS FIRST-QUARTER NET INCOME UP 218%    CP Ships, the group of ocean carriers owned by Canadian Pacific Ltd., reported first-quarter net income of $35 million, up 218 percent from the year-earlier period.
   Operating income rose $27 million to $40 million. Container volume rose 44 percent to 437,000 TEUs, due to CP Ships' full ownership of Americana Ships and an 11-percent increase in underlying volume. The improvement also marks continued cost savings and a more stable freight rate environment, CP Ships said.
   The carrier group said transatlantic import volumes rose strongly, as did rates. The Australasian trades continues to see pressure on freight rates, though volumes increased. In the Latin American trades, volumes decreased slightly but freight rates held as carriers rationalized space.
   CP Ships completed its acquisition of TMM's remaining 50-percent share of the Americana Ships venture in mid-March.
   The carrier group said earlier this month that it was acquiring Christensen Canadian African Line, which employs three chartered ships in the Montreal/South Africa trade. The transaction is expected to close soon.
   CCAL is the seventh carrier acquisition by CP Ships since 1995. The other carriers bought are Cast, Lykes, Contship, Ivaran, Australia-New Zealand Direct Line and TMM’s share in Americana Ships.