Asia/Pacific News
SCI Says Strong Q1 Results Won't be Sustainable
State-run Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) says that while it has benefited from falling crude prices which in FY2015 saved the company Rs 285 crore ($43.14 million), its strong June-end quarter performance will not be replicated in the current three month period, local media reports.
"We do not think that the June-end quarter performance will be sustainable in this quarter," said Arun Kumar Gupta, Chariman and Managing Director for SCI at the company's 65th annual general meeting.
Reasons for the strong results were not elaborated on by Gupta or SCI.
However, Gupta is reported to have noted that, while the tanker market is one of the stronger sectors at the moment, SCI is struggling in other segments including dry bulk as a result of lower freight rates, and the container sector because of a tumble in exim trade.
Speaking on the dry bulk market, Gupta said "as the huge number of ships get delivered, the freight rates will still continue to decline. We expect testing times in this segment to prevail."
The buoyant tanker market is expected to remain on the same course until December, asserts Gupta, but a meeting of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and lifted sanctions against Iran could cause a market shift after that time.
In May, SCI reported its fifth consecutive quarterly profit in the fourth quarter of 2014-1015, marking its first full-year profit recorded in four years.
