Regional Container Lines’ profits suffer

Regional Container Lines’ profits suffer    Regional Container Lines, the Southeast Asian feeder operator, saw its net profit after exchange rate differences decline about 36 percent last year to 791 million Thai bahts ($20 million), a fall of baht436 million ($11 million) from 2002.
   The carrier’s revenues rose 7 percent in local currency to baht13.4 billion ($338 million), despite the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Thai currency. Regional Container Lines’ revenues are based on the U.S. dollar, causing a translation loss in its accounts.
   The carrier said that, taking into consideration the translation loss, the increase in its revenues for 2003 “was in line with the improved lifting with improvement in freight rate, in particular, in second half of the year.” The feeder operator carried 1.73 million TEUS in 2003, an 8-percent increase.
   “The global and regional economies picked up in (the) fourth quarter of 2003,” the carrier said.
   Regional Container Lines said charter and bunker expenses had stayed persistently high throughout the year, but it reduced costs in other areas. The company suffered a baht337 million ($9 million) loss on impairment of its property assets in 2003. It also recorded an exchange loss of baht12 million ($300,000) this year, as compared to a gain on exchange of baht612 million last year.
   Regional Container Lines provides container services to 18 countries throughout Asia, the India subcontinent, the Middle East and Australia. The Asian carrier operates a fleet of 36 container vessels comprising both owned and chartered tonnage.