ZIM Integrated Shipping Services posted a profit of $7 million in 2015, compared to net loss $198 million in 2014. Revenues for the full year decreased 12%, from US$3.4 billion in 2014 to US$3 billion this past year.
In the fourth quarter of 2015, the Israel-based container carrier reported a loss of $28 million compared with a loss of US$7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2015 stood at US$687 million, 15 percent less than the US$813 million recorded in the same period last year.
The Company’s income from voyages and related services for the year ended 31 December, 2015 was US$2,991.1M compared to US$3,408.8M for the year ended 31 December, 2014, a decrease of US$417.7M (12.3%). The decrease was primarily driven by the following: (i) a decrease in income from containerized cargo in an amount of US$334.7M, (ii) a decrease in income from related services in an amount of US$43.5M and (iii) a decrease in income from demurrage in an amount of US$28.9M.
The carried quantities for the year ended 31 December, 2015 amounted to 2,308 thousand TEUs, compared to 2,360 thousand TEUs for the year ended 31 December, 2014, a decrease of 52 thousand TEUs (2.2%), mainly a result of closing the line from Asia to Northern Europe during the second quarter of 2014. The average revenue per TEU decreased by $117.0 (9.4%) from about $1,243 for the year ended 31 December, 2014 to about $1,126 for the year ended 31 December, 2015.
The Company’s income from voyages and related services for the three months ended 31 December, 2015 was $687.2M compared to $813.0M for the three months ended 31 December, 2014, a decrease of $125.8M (15.5%). The decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in income from containerized cargo in an amount of 122.3M$.
The carried quantities for the three months ended 31 December, 2015 amounted to 590 thousand TEUs, compared to 563 thousand TEUs for the three months ended 31 December, 2014, an increase of 27 thousand TEUs (4.8%). The average revenue per TEU decreased by $264 (21.1%) from about $1,252 for the three months ended 31 December, 2014 to about $988 for the three months ended 31 December, 2015.
The company noted that “Strong improvement in margins in 2015 was achieved against a backdrop of challenging market conditions, highlighted by vessel overcapacity and extremely low freight rates,". "Global capacity increased in 2015 by an historical amount of 1.7 million TEUs, or about 8.5 percent, and resulted in a sharp drop in freight rates, pushing the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) to all-time lows.”
The carrier added “While the idle fleet reached a peak of about 8% of global capacity, market challenges remain as the order book at the end of 2015 stood at 4 million TEUs, out of which 1.3 million TEUs are expected to be delivered during 2016,”.
Rafi Danieli, ZIM’s chief executive and president said, “The comprehensive structural, operational and organizational changes we have implemented in recent years enabled us to achieve operating margins ranked among the top in the industry, despite continued overcapacity and freight rate deterioration.
In the current market environment, our asset-light business model enables ZIM to benefit from highly flexible and cost-efficient fleet management. We continue to implement our business plan, focusing on select markets where the Company has a competitive advantage.”
