Seaboard Marine’s operating income rises 11-fold

Seaboard Marine’s operating income rises 11-fold    Seaboard Marine’s operating income rose 11-fold to $61.6 million in 2004 from $5.8 million in 2003, on higher freight rates and container volumes.
   The rebound was also partly due to the recovery of the Venezuelan market, which had declined in the two previous years.
   “Seaboard Marine had an exceptional year” in 2004, said H.H. Bresky, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Seaboard Corp., the parent company of the U.S./South America/Caribbean shipping line.
   In recent years, Seaboard Marine had seen its revenue per unit shipped decline, but 2004 saw this trend change. “Both volumes and revenue per unit shipped started to increase,” Bresky said. “The shipping industry as a whole enjoyed increased freight rates, and demand for shipping remains strong, mainly due to pressure from Asia.”
   As a percentage of revenue, Seaboard Marine’s operating profit margin reached 12 percent in 2004, a big improvement over the 1-percent margin made in 2003.
   Net sales at Seaboard Marine rose 22 percent to $498.5 million as a result of higher average freight rates, especially in the second half of the year, and higher cargo volumes. Freight rates increased in 2004 over 2003 due to “improved market conditions and better cargo mixes in certain markets,” Seaboard said
   Higher cargo volumes were experienced in most markets as a result of improved economic activities within the countries served. In a letter to stockholders, Bresky said the prospect for freight rates “remains quite positive” this year.
   Seaboard cautioned it cannot predict changes in future cargo rates or to what extent economic conditions will continue to improve for the Venezuelan market, but said it anticipates remaining profitable in 2005.
   Seaboard is one of the largest ocean carriers in the U.S./South American liner trades.