Zim posts healthy Q3 profit amid rates downturn

The results follow net losses of $192m for the first three quarters of 2014, $63m of which were realised in Q3. Following, a $3bn debt restructuring completed in summer 2014, however, results have been positive for the last four quarters consecutively.

The line was able to record net profits of $12m in both Q1 and Q2, with only a slight dip in forytunes in Q3 when rates fell 13% to average $1,120 per teu, causing revenues to slump to $749m compared with $854m in Q3 2014.

Nevertheless Zim carried 581,400 teu in the Q3 of 2015, a 1% increase compared to the same period last year, with the negative impact on volumes from lower demand offset by the traffic growth contributed by the company’s new Z7S service, launched earlier in the year.

The third quarter was characterized by “a challenging market environment with freight rates reaching historic lows in several key trades,” Zim commented in a statement. During the quarter it completed implementation of a new state-of-the-art vessel loading programme, helping maximize vessel utilization and cargo load, as well as significantly decreasing planning time, the company said.

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