Japan lines profit through 3 fiscal quarters

Japan lines profit through 3 fiscal quarters    Japanese container shipping lines 'K' Line, MOL and NYK all reported improved financial results through three quarters of their fiscal year.
   'K' Line said its container shipping division saw operating profit of $383.8 million through the first nine months of its financial year (April through March) on revenue of $4.2 billion.
   'K' Line's third quarter container line profit was $70 million on $1.3 billion in revenue. The line didn't release comparable figures for the corresponding periods in the last fiscal year.
   However, the company's revenue from marine transportation (which includes a bulk division that nets nearly the same revenue as its container division, and a car carrier division) was up 24.3 percent through the first three quarters of the fiscal year, to $9.3 billion. Operating profit was $765 million in the same period (including the bulk division), a huge swing from the roughly $640 million loss in the year-earlier period.
   'K' Line added its transpacific cargo volume through the third quarter was actually 8 percent lower, due to a drive to reduce tonnage, though Asia/Europe volume was up 9 percent.
   Meanwhile, compatriot line MOL said its container line netted three-quarter profits of about $415 million, including roughly $98 million in the third quarter. Through three quarters of the 2009 fiscal year, MOL's container division had lost roughly $619 million.
   The company as a whole saw revenue grow 19.8 percent through three quarters to $14.4 billion. But revenue gains were offset by a yen that strengthened 7 percent against the dollar April 1 to Dec. 31.
   NYK said it had net profit of 26.8 billion yen ($326 million) in its third quarter ending Dec. 31 compared to 2.6 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.
   NYK’s revenue was 471.1 billion yen ($5.73 billion) in the third quarter compared to 442.7 billion yen a year earlier.
   NYK said increased cargo volume and higher freight rates resulted in its liner shipping operations having operating profit of 6.8 billion yen ($82.7 million) in the third quarter compared to a loss of 12 billion yen in the same period the year before.
   Liner shipping revenue was 109.9 billion yen ($1.34 billion) in the third quarter compared to 97.2 billion yen in the third quarter of the prior year.
   NYK said it expects to move 654,000 TEUs in the Asia/North America trade in the current fiscal year compared to 582,000 TEUs the prior year, upping utilization to 87 percent from 80 percent.
   NYK also saw improved results in its terminal, air cargo, logistics, bulk cargo, and cruise segments and is forecasting revenue in its current fiscal year will be 14 percent higher than a year earlier, and that it will turn a profit of 76 billion yen for fiscal year 2011 compared to a loss of 17.4 billion yen in fiscal year 2010.