NYK’s GROUP PROFITS FALL DESPITE LOGITICS BOOM

NYK’s GROUP PROFITS FALL DESPITE LOGITICS BOOM    Japanese shipping and logistics group NYK saw the net income for its fiscal first-half, ended Sept. 30, fall by half, to 7.8 billion yen ($64 million), from Yen15.5 billion, despite a large increase in revenues from its logistics arm.
   Group operating income for the six-month period remained virtually unchanged, at Yen41.3 billion ($336 million), compared to Yen41.2 billion a year earlier.
   Group revenue for April-September rose by 5 percent, to Yen614.6 billion ($5 billion), from Yen585 billion.
   Revenues from shipping increased by 3 percent, to Yen397.2 billion ($3.2 billion). Logistics was the fastest-growing activity at NYK in its first half-year, posting a 22-percent jump in revenue, to Yen119.3 billion ($973 million).
   Commenting on its half-year results, NYK said that it experienced larger-than-expected cargo volumes in liner shipping, but low freight rates, higher bunker prices and heavier operating costs impacted its earnings negatively.
   It also cited a sluggish tanker shipping market.
   In logistics, NYK said that it has a business tie-up with COSCO in China, and obtained permission for NYK Logistics China to open branches in Tianjin, Qingdao, Fuzhou, Xiamen and Guangzhou.
   In June, NYK started operating a 23,000-square-meter warehouse in Toronto, Canada.
   Citing the developments of its logistics activities in China and Canada, NYK said that it plans to expand NYK Logistics’ physical distribution activities to the rest of the world.