Orient Overseas International Limited (OOIL), owner of shipping company Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), has announced its financial results for 2023.
In 2023, OOCL experienced a slight uptick in its container volumes, rising to 7.34 million TEU from 7.13 million TEU in 2022.
Meanwhile, parent company OOIL reported revenues of $8.34 billion last year, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came to a total of $2.26 billion.
Additionally, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) came to $1.41 billion and, more notably, profit came to $1.37 billion. OOIL’s operating cash flow was at a figure of $617 million by the end of 2023.
The figures reported by OOIL, however, are considerably lower than the corresponding figures in 2022.
“The exceptionally robust container shipping market that we witnessed during the pandemic is now far behind us, and we have returned to a rather normal yet uncertain year 2023,“ the company stated in its latest report.
“The cargo demand recovery was not as strong as many anticipated, affected by high inflation, slowdown in economic growth of advanced economies, as well as the consumer spending patterns shifting in the post-pandemic.“
“As carriers’ schedules became more reliable, retailers opted towards a just-in-time approach when restocking, thereby delaying demand to a certain extent. On the supply side, with the alleviation of bottlenecks, and the continuous delivery of new ships, the change in supply has undoubtedly exceeded in demand and the continuous decline of freight rates.“
READ: OOCL unveils eighth eco-friendly 24,188 TEU vessel
OOIL, moreover, reported a huge drop off in earnings per ordinary share which in 2023 was $2.07, whereas in 2022 it was $15.09.
The Board of Directors has recommended that the dividend for the full year 2023 is approximately 50 per cent of the profit attributable to equity holders at approximately $687 million, with the proposed payment of a final dividend of $0.145 per ordinary share and a second special dividend of $0.036 per ordinary share for 2023.
Last summer, OOIL was listed in China’s Edition of S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2023.
More recently, Sumitomo Corporation and OOCL signed a business alliance agreement to provide refrigerated ocean transport.
