P&O Nedlloys Posts Best-Ever 1Q Numbers

Container shipping group P&O Nedlloyd posted its best ever first-quarter operating profit on Wednesday, helped by lower fuel prices and a seven percent rise in traffic. The company, a joint venture between Britain's P&O and Dutch Koninklijke Nedlloyd Groep, reported an operating profit of $31 million for the three months, compared with a year-ago loss of $14 million. In addition to a traffic volume rise, the firm said revenue rates rose by five percent from a year ago, although they remained flat compared to the fourth quarter of 2000. But the company again declined to offer a full-year forecast, citing continued uncertainty in the world economy, although it said it was on 'solid footing' to withstand those uncertainties. - (Reuters)