Q4 earnings soar for Wilh Wilhelmsen
Wilh Wilhelmsen ASA, half-owner of the world's biggest car-shipping line, posted almost a seven-fold gain in fourth-quarter profit after it sold a unit and record global car production buoyed ship-hire rates.
Net income climbed to US$121 million, or US$2.51 a share, from US$18 million, or 35 cents, a year earlier, Lysaker, Norway-based Wilh Wilhelmsen said yesterday. That included a US$83.1 million gain from the sale of its heavy transport unit, Dockwise Transport.
Global production of light vehicles rose to a record 64.6 million last year, from 62.8 million a year ago, according to preliminary data from PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Car transport by sea rose to a record 10.9 million units, according to Maritime Strategies International. 'We anticipate a continued tight space situation short term,' Wilh Wilhelmsen chief executive Ingar Skaug said.
Demand for carrying cars grew faster than the company's available ships and it had to borrow vessels to fulfill orders, he said. Wilh Wilhelmsen also had to carry some cars across the US by rail because of a lack of ships, adding 'a fortune' to costs, he said. Voyage expenses rose 11 per cent as a result. 'Now that we are getting better equilibrium, we won't have to do these things and it will free us up enormously.' Wilh Wilhelmsen's 150 carriers transport 4.6 million vehicles a year.
Net income climbed to US$121 million, or US$2.51 a share, from US$18 million, or 35 cents, a year earlier, Lysaker, Norway-based Wilh Wilhelmsen said yesterday. That included a US$83.1 million gain from the sale of its heavy transport unit, Dockwise Transport.
Global production of light vehicles rose to a record 64.6 million last year, from 62.8 million a year ago, according to preliminary data from PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Car transport by sea rose to a record 10.9 million units, according to Maritime Strategies International. 'We anticipate a continued tight space situation short term,' Wilh Wilhelmsen chief executive Ingar Skaug said.
Demand for carrying cars grew faster than the company's available ships and it had to borrow vessels to fulfill orders, he said. Wilh Wilhelmsen also had to carry some cars across the US by rail because of a lack of ships, adding 'a fortune' to costs, he said. Voyage expenses rose 11 per cent as a result. 'Now that we are getting better equilibrium, we won't have to do these things and it will free us up enormously.' Wilh Wilhelmsen's 150 carriers transport 4.6 million vehicles a year.
