Samudera posts lower Q2 profit amid weak shipping market

Samudera Shipping’s net profit declined to $3.11m during the quarter ended 30 June 2015, a drop of 26% compared to $4.21m in the same period of 2014.

Revenue also decreased by 16.1% year-on-year to $81.29m due mainly to lower contributions from both its container shipping and bulk and tanker business segments.

“Operating conditions for both the container, as well as bulk and tanker, industries are expected to remain challenging in the near to medium term,” Samudera Shipping commented.

“Strong competition continues to exert downward pressure on freight rates. While lower bunker price and charter-in rates should help to mitigate the impact, the group expects these to be volatile in the near term as well,” it said.

It added that whilst tanker charter rates have remained relatively stable, excess tonnage in the market is expected to depress charter rates for the group’s bulk carriers.