Weak intra-Asia container market drags down RCL

Thailand’s RCL noted that freight rates during the second quarter fell by 16.2% year-on-year and were down by 2.8% compared to the first quarter.

“RCL’s performance improved in 2Q2016 over 1Q2016, but this was not enough to report a profit,” RCL stated.

In the six months ended 30 June 2016, RCL booked a loss of THB425.97m ($12.33m) as against the profit of THB228.17m in the same period of 2015. The loss was accumulated from a first quarter deficit of THB243m.

During the second quarter, the group disposed of some old containers, which translated into a disposal gain of THB4m.

“On a positive note, it is reported that developing Asean economics continue to hold growth potential, and by the end of 2016 we could see containerised trade growth outpace expansion in the containership fleet,” RCL commented.