Shipping firms post profit surge

Many shipping companies have posted a year-on-year surge in profits in Q3, driven primarily by higher freight rates.

The Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) has recorded third-quarter revenues of VND4.127 trillion ($179.4 million), up 71 percent year-on-year, and profits of VND760 billion, compared to nearly VND30 billion in losses during the same period last year.

The VIMC’s ocean shipping operations transported over 18 million tons of cargo and earned profits of more than VND380 billion.

The Vietnam Ocean Shipping Joint Stock Company (Vosco), a VIMC affiliate, posted a net profit of nearly VND186 billion in Q3, against net losses of over VND21 billion in the same period last year. Vosco’s total profits in the first nine months rose to VND409 billion, against losses of more than VND139 billion during the same period last year.

Another VIMC affiliate, the Transport and Trading Services Joint Stock Company (Transco), recorded profits of VND9 billion in Q3, up from VND326 million in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Hai An Transport and Stevedoring Joint Stock Company (HAH) made net profits of VND476 billion, up 65 percent, and after-tax profit of over VND100 billion, up 370 percent on-year, the highest profit hike since it became a listed firm in 2014.

In the first nine months of this year, HAH recorded net revenues of VND1.284 trillion and after-tax profits of VND284 billion, up 50 percent and double year-on-year, respectively.

A surge in freight rates has been the main contributor to the profit surge, market observers say. The average cost for transporting a standard container from China to the West Coast of the U.S. is $20,586, nearly double that of July and double that of January, Fox Business reported.

With Covid-19 outbreaks easing in many big economies, import and export activities are surging, and Vietnam is benefiting from the free trade agreements it has signed.

According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, seaports nationwide handled over 535 million tons of cargo in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 3 percent.