In his New Year’s greeting NYK President Hitoshi Nagasawa said that the company expected a record profit exceeding JPY1trn for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2023.
However, Nagasawa also warned that global trends would differ in 2023 to the past two years that have driven record profitability for the Japanese shipowner.
“The prolonged impact of Covid-19, soaring energy prices, inflation worldwide, and the following monetary squeeze triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict are causing concern about an economic recession. With consumer spending slumping in Europe and other parts of the world, ONE, a major driver of earnings, is facing a tidal wave in its business environment,” he stated.
As a result NYK Group as whole is expected to face a challenging year.
Listen to the Seatrade Maritime Podcast on the container shipping market outlook for 2023
However, Nagasawa added there was no need to be too pessimistic as the company had expected the strong tailwind would not last long and had taken countermeasures over the last two years.
“Specifically, we have implemented structural reforms in the dry bulk business, cost reductions in various areas, and other measures to dispel concerns about the future. The situation will change drastically, but if we continue to fulfill our roles, we can achieve positive results,” he said.
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