YMM back in black in 2017 with nearly $11m profit

The Taiwanese ocean carrier turned a profit in 2017 amid significant increases in consolidated revenues and volumes as it encountered tailwinds from a recovering shipping market.    Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. (YMM) posted a net profit of 320 million New Taiwan Dollars (U.S. $10.78 million) in 2017, a sharp reversal from the loss of NTD 14.9 billion it reported in 2016 and the loss of NTD 7.8 billion it reported in 2015.
   The Taiwan-based carrier said its consolidated revenues in 2017 totaled NTD 131 billion, up 13.6 percent compared with the NTD 115 billion reported in 2016.
   In terms of volumes, Yang Ming carried over 4.7 million TEUs in 2017, up 9 percent year-over-year.
   Yang Ming attributed the turnaround to both the recovering shipping market, as well as “effort and dedication” of its employees.
   Yang Ming also pointed to an economic forecast made this month by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has predicted global economic growth of 3.9 percent in both 2018 and 2019, an improvement over the 3.7 percent growth recorded in 2017.
   “In addition to strengthening its operating strategies, such as management centralization, Yang Ming has over the past year deployed strategies to optimize cargo structure, integrate information technology systems, and continuously train staff to improve knowledge and expertise,” Yang Ming said.
   Yang Ming is a member of “THE” Alliance, along with Hapag-Lloyd of Germany and the Ocean Network Express (ONE), which is a new container shipping joint venture formed by Japan’s “big three” carriers – NYK, MOL and “K” Line.
   THE Alliance deploys a total of 239 vessels with an aggregate capacity of 2.1 million TEUs across 31 services, according to BlueWater Reporting’s Capacity Report.
   Looking ahead, Yang Ming said it plans to “explore and develop new markets, optimize its fleet deployment, and take advantage of opportunities to minimize its operating costs and improve profitability, with the goal to provide customers with convenient and excellent delivery services.”