Wan Hai Profits Up
Asian container operator Wan Hai Lines Ltd sees 2014 profit jump as revenue grows faster than costs.
The Taiwanese container carrier recorded a profit of TWD5.32 billion (USD170 million) for 2014, soaring 158% from a profit of TWD2.13 billion in 2013.
The carrier's earnings per share also rocketed by 147% to TWD2.37 from TWD0.96 a year ago, and its revenue totaled TWD67 billion in 2014, up 12% year on year (y/y).
The company is aiming to raise its annual sales to NT$70 billion (US$2.23 billion) this year, an increase of 4.5 percent from last year. Currently, the carrier operates a fleet of 72 vessels.
Taiwan's third-largest container shipping company in terms of fleet size is banking on an expansion of the scale of its fleet to make a successful comeback to the US market in May, as it aims to capitalize on the rebound in the US economy.
“We plan to raise the sales proportion of the US lines to between 7 and 8 percent of the total this year,” Wan Hai executive vice president Tommy Hsieh said.
Regional routes in Asia account for 86 percent of the container shipper’s total sales, with the US lines making up only about 5 percent, according to Wan Hai.
Wan Hai said declining global crude oil prices have enabled the company to save NT$1.5 billion in fuel costs since the beginning of this year compared with the same period last year.
Wan Hai Lines has recently that a new Asia-Middle East string called China-Middle East Service II will be launched in April, which will be the second loop of Wan Hai Lines' Asia-Middle East service.
The new service, jointly operated by Wan Hai Lines, Yang Ming, Cosco Container Lines, and Pacific International Lines, will use six 5,500 teu vessels.
