MOL has stated that it will have reached an ordinary profit of US$1.337 billion to $1.782 billion by 2027 through improvements across all segments of the business, especially in containership operations.
The 11th largest ocean carrier line, which reported a $168 million profit at the start of 2017, has released a new management plan ‘Rolling Plan 2017’ which reveals that MOL will integrate its containership business into the group, with new operations commencing in April 2018.
This involves concentrating investments in other areas of MOL, such as LNG carriers and offshore businesses, scaling down dry bulkers and optimising fleet sizes to 'small and medium sized' dry bulkers and containerships.
MOL predicts that the 2017 financial year will not see its containership business reach profitability.
It has also assumed that there will be a “sluggish” recovery in the dry bulk market.
However, it expects the management plan to have taken the company closer to the breakeven point by financial year 2018.
By the 2019 financial year, MOL has stated that it expects to see “profitability of several tens of billions of yen”.
It aims to do this by “significantly” improving profitability in the containership business, increasing profits in the chemical tanker, logistics and ferry businesses.
The group also stated that it expects the dry bulker market to “likely recover to some extent”.
MOL did not release information on what it expected its containership fleet size to be in the future, which currently stands at 91.
It currently has a total of 847 vessels across the entire business, which it plans to have reduced by 41 in March 2020.
Part of MOLs technological development plan going forward will focus on its smart ship project, which will focus in part on the development of LNG-fueled vessels.
