HMM swung back into positive financial territory during the second quarter of the year, ending five years of consecutive quarterly losses.

The South Korean carrier reported a net profit of USD 23 million for the three-month period, although the half-year result remained stuck in the red at USD -31 million. HMM reported a loss of USD 54 million in Q2 2019.

The company attributed the strong showing to its new cooperation with THE Alliance and the deployment of its 24,000 teu-class contai- nerships since April 2020.

Although liftings were down by 22% in Q2, revenue slipped only by 1.6%, showing the impact of the carriers’ capacity management pro- grammes. Over the first six months of the year, volumes declined by nearly 21% to 1.78 Mteu, resulting in a small decline of 0.9% in revenue to USD 2.226 billion.

However, operating profits leapt to USD 113 million from the previous year’s loss, while net profits also improved from last year’s USD -314 million to the aforementioned USD -31 million deficit.