NOL to grow network of terminals, may expand to Europe
Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) is aiming to expand its network of nine terminals, including the possible establishment of terminals in Europe, after it recently announced its first China facility in Qingdao.
APL terminal in Vietnam: Mr Held said terminals are a vital part of the supply chain that NOL can offer to the group's customers
Saying it is the 'right time' to accelerate the pace at which it is expanding, NOL group president and CEO Thomas Held said the group's way forward will be built around organic growth, and 'we will also be on the look-out for merger and acquisition opportunities'.
Mr Held was speaking at the group's annual results briefing earlier this week in which NOL posted a 55 per cent drop in net profit to US$363.7 million for 2006. A priority for NOL's management group will now be to define the specific areas which they believe they can grow profitably, he said.
'Our growth will involve filling capability gaps in logistics, broadening our depth geographically, expanding our terminal network and renewing the growth of our liner fleet.'
This will involve a focus on Asia and the group's key transpacific trade lane to the US, he said. 'We have to have a look at our major trade lane to the US and what we can do to get an even better position - we have a great position over there already and of course we have to take a look also at Europe, where for the time being we have no terminal in owned operations.'
'We see terminals as one of our core activities,' Mr Held said. 'It's a vital part of the supply chain that we can offer to our customers.'
The group also announced this week a joint venture with China-based SITC Group to form a 50-50 joint-venture company to build and operate a container terminal in the northern port of Qingdao.
Qingdao is China's third-busiest container port and is strategically located near the southern entry to Bohai Bay.
Saying the group had 'screened all potential candidates' which could strengthen its capabilities, he added that there are currently no specific purchase intentions.
'Our energy is going into growing our capabilities, most of the terminals we have of significance are expandable, and efforts are underway in a number of those places to increase the capacity and capabilities of those terminals to be able to handle more volume than they do today,' added APL liner chief, Ron Widdows.
The group is currently investing in its US west coast Oakland terminal, for instance, that will expand its capacity by nearly 60 per cent by mid-2008.
Currently NOL handles in excess of 4 million TEUs at its network of nine terminals on the US West Coast and Asia, which makes it the 12th largest container terminal operator in the world.
These terminals include Dutch Harbour, Seattle, Oakland and San Pedro in the US; and Yokohama, Kobe, Kaohsiung, Laem Chabang and Ho Chi Minh in Asia. The latter two are joint-venture terminals.
Mr Held, who only joined NOL in October last year, is keen to accelerate growth at the Singapore-listed company, which announced in January a bigger commitment to its Vietnam port project.
NOL said it will upgrade its container terminal in Ho Chi Minh City to accommodate growth in containerised cargo in Vietnam, by increasing the berth length at the terminal by 192 metres. This will allow the terminal to berth up to four container ships at a time.
Earlier, in December, NOL said it had been granted a licence by Vietnam to provide container transportation and logistics services in the country. The licence, it said, placed the company in a strong position to grow its business in one of the fastest emerging markets where the economy is projected to grow 8.2 per cent this year.
Meanwhile, Singapore's container terminal operating group, PSA International, is flying high with its acquisitions of strategic stakes in port concessions overseas. It expanded its global port network with another six ventures in India, Turkey and Panama.
PSA International now has 25 port ventures in 14 countries across the globe and its total container volumes handled last year hit a record 51.3 million TEUs.
APL terminal in Vietnam: Mr Held said terminals are a vital part of the supply chain that NOL can offer to the group's customers
Saying it is the 'right time' to accelerate the pace at which it is expanding, NOL group president and CEO Thomas Held said the group's way forward will be built around organic growth, and 'we will also be on the look-out for merger and acquisition opportunities'.
Mr Held was speaking at the group's annual results briefing earlier this week in which NOL posted a 55 per cent drop in net profit to US$363.7 million for 2006. A priority for NOL's management group will now be to define the specific areas which they believe they can grow profitably, he said.
'Our growth will involve filling capability gaps in logistics, broadening our depth geographically, expanding our terminal network and renewing the growth of our liner fleet.'
This will involve a focus on Asia and the group's key transpacific trade lane to the US, he said. 'We have to have a look at our major trade lane to the US and what we can do to get an even better position - we have a great position over there already and of course we have to take a look also at Europe, where for the time being we have no terminal in owned operations.'
'We see terminals as one of our core activities,' Mr Held said. 'It's a vital part of the supply chain that we can offer to our customers.'
The group also announced this week a joint venture with China-based SITC Group to form a 50-50 joint-venture company to build and operate a container terminal in the northern port of Qingdao.
Qingdao is China's third-busiest container port and is strategically located near the southern entry to Bohai Bay.
Saying the group had 'screened all potential candidates' which could strengthen its capabilities, he added that there are currently no specific purchase intentions.
'Our energy is going into growing our capabilities, most of the terminals we have of significance are expandable, and efforts are underway in a number of those places to increase the capacity and capabilities of those terminals to be able to handle more volume than they do today,' added APL liner chief, Ron Widdows.
The group is currently investing in its US west coast Oakland terminal, for instance, that will expand its capacity by nearly 60 per cent by mid-2008.
Currently NOL handles in excess of 4 million TEUs at its network of nine terminals on the US West Coast and Asia, which makes it the 12th largest container terminal operator in the world.
These terminals include Dutch Harbour, Seattle, Oakland and San Pedro in the US; and Yokohama, Kobe, Kaohsiung, Laem Chabang and Ho Chi Minh in Asia. The latter two are joint-venture terminals.
Mr Held, who only joined NOL in October last year, is keen to accelerate growth at the Singapore-listed company, which announced in January a bigger commitment to its Vietnam port project.
NOL said it will upgrade its container terminal in Ho Chi Minh City to accommodate growth in containerised cargo in Vietnam, by increasing the berth length at the terminal by 192 metres. This will allow the terminal to berth up to four container ships at a time.
Earlier, in December, NOL said it had been granted a licence by Vietnam to provide container transportation and logistics services in the country. The licence, it said, placed the company in a strong position to grow its business in one of the fastest emerging markets where the economy is projected to grow 8.2 per cent this year.
Meanwhile, Singapore's container terminal operating group, PSA International, is flying high with its acquisitions of strategic stakes in port concessions overseas. It expanded its global port network with another six ventures in India, Turkey and Panama.
PSA International now has 25 port ventures in 14 countries across the globe and its total container volumes handled last year hit a record 51.3 million TEUs.
