Asia/Pacific News
MOL Reports Improved Results on Efficiency Measures, Falling Bunker Prices
Japanese carrier Mitsui O.S.K. Line [TYO:9104] (MOL) reports an improvement in its results as bunker prices fell and efficiency measures produced results in the first half of its 2013 fiscal year, which ended September 30.
The company's revenues rose 12 percent year-over-year to ¥845.2 billion ($8.6 billion) in the second quarter of its 2013 fiscal year, and the company made a ¥21.1 billion ($216.3 million) profit compared with a loss of ¥13.1 billion ($132.8 million) in the same period last year.
The average bunker price for the first six months of the year fell to $608 per metric tonne (pmt) from $681 pmt.
The company said its tanker segment improved thanks to slow steaming and other efforts to reduce fuel costs, but it still saw a loss for the first half of the fiscal year as the overall market did not improve sufficiently.
Overall, MOL said the global economy produced mixed signals in recent months.
"Although the economies of developed countries including the U.S. and Japan recovered steadily, growth slowed down in emerging economies," the company said.
Under pressure from high bunker prices and other economic factors, MOL announced plans earlier this year for a cost-cutting initiative.
