OOCL reports higher rates, surge in revenues

OOCL reports higher rates, surge in revenues    Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas (International) Ltd., parent company of Orient Overseas Container Line, reported fourth-quarter year-on-year increases in revenue of more than 20 percent in all four of its trade areas, due to strong volume growth and continuing increases in unit rates.
   Fourth-quarter revenue soared 28 percent to $998 million up from $779 million in the year-earlier period.
   OOCL’s revenue per TEU rose 9 percent to $1,147 in the fourth quarter, averaging all trade routes worldwide, as compared to $1,048 in the fourth quarter of 2003. Average revenue per TEU in the fourth quarter was also slightly higher than the $1,142 recorded in the third quarter, which suggests that the carrier was able to implement rate increases on some routes even after the peak season period ended.
   The carrier’s worldwide traffic grew 17 percent to 870,257 TEUs in the fourth quarter.
   The latest quarterly revenue update published by Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. mirrors recent freight rate trends outlined earlier this week by APL. APL’s average freight rate for the last seven weeks of 2004 was $2,771 per forty-foot equivalent unit (or $1,385 per TEU), up 9 percent on the corresponding rate for the last six weeks of 2003. APL also reported a 17-percent overall growth in container traffic for the last weeks of 2004.
   OOCL increased its two-way transpacific volume 17 percent to 271,885 TEUs in the fourth quarter. Asia/Europe volumes were also up 17 percent, at 133,474 TEUs. Transatlantic volumes rose 15 percent to 83,243 TEUs and intra-Asia/Australasia traffic expanded 17 percent to 381,655 TEUs.
   Revenue per TEU in the transpacific rose 3 percent to $1,580. OOCL’s average rate per TEU in the Asia/Europe route jumped 10 percent to $1,457. The transatlantic rate per TEU rose 6 percent to $1,385. And the average unit rate of OOCL in the intra-Asia/Australasia trade soared 24 percent to $678.
   The combination of rate increases and higher volumes boosted fourth-quarter revenue for all trade routes at OOCL. Revenue was $430 million in the transpacific (up 20 percent year-on-year), $195 million in Asia/Europe (up 30 percent), $115 million in the transatlantic (up 22 percent) and $259 million in intra-Asia/Australasia (up 46 percent).
   “Total container volumes were 17.1 percent ahead of the same period last year and total revenues increased by 28.2 percent to $998.1 million,” Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. said. “The overall load factor was close to that of the corresponding quarter of last year despite a 17.8-percent increase in loadable capacity. Overall average revenue per TEU increased by 9.5 percent compared with the same period last year.”
   The fourth quarter ended a year of very rapid growth at OOCL, which reported an annual revenue of $3.6 billion for 2004, up 30 percent on the previous year.
   For the year, OOCL’s container liftings increased 22 percent to 3.3 million TEUs from 2.8 million TEUs in 2003. Its average revenue per TEU went up 7 percent overall to $1,100, with a 6-percent increase in the transpacific to $1,565.