Eimskip reports strong Q3 results

The Icelandic liner carrier posted net earnings of 8.5 million euros on operating revenues of 129.7 million euros for the third quarter of 2015, year-over-year increases of 12.7 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.    Eimskip posted net earnings of 8.5 million euros (U.S. $9.1 million) for the third quarter and 15.5 million euros for the first nine months of 2015, a year-over-year increase of 12.7 percent and 37.1 percent, respectively.
   Operating revenues for the third quarter stood at 129.7 million euros, an increase of 8.5 percent from the third quarter of 2014.
   The Icelandic liner carrier attributed the increase in third quarter operating revenues to growth in transported volumes, investment in new forwarding companies and a combination of transport and currency exchange fluctuations, but since last year, the euro has significantly weakened against the company’s main currency.
   For the first nine months of the year, operating revenues reached 369 million euros, a 10.9 percent increase from the corresponding period in 2014.
   Eimskip’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at 16.4 million euros for the third quarter and 35.5 million euros for the first nine months of 2015, a year-over-year increase of 29.5 percent and 19.4 percent, respectively.
   “Operating revenue and EBITDA in the third quarter are the highest in one single quarter since 2009,” Eimskip President and CEO Gylfi Sigfússon said in a statement.
   The EBITDA forecast for 2015 is now in a range of 44.5 million euros to 46.5 million euros.
   Transported volumes in the North Atlantic liner services for the third quarter grew 2.8 percent year-over-year, while transported volumes in the reefer forwarding services rose 1 percent year-over-year.
   The slower than expected growth in the company’s reefer forwarding services compared to the third quarter of 2014 resulted from slow markets in China, however other markets are in good condition, Eimskip said.
   For the first nine months of 2015, transported volumes in the north Atlantic liner services grew 2.2 percent from the corresponding period in 2014, while transported volumes in the reefer forwarding services rose 7.9 percent.
   Eimskip operates from 56 offices across 19 countries, with approximately half of its operating revenue from operations outside of Iceland. The Icelandic liner carrier operates with a fleet of 20 vessels, 14 of which are owned and six of which are chartered.