Icelandic container line Eimskip has stayed in profit in the second quarter thanks to swift cost-cutting measures.
As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the shipowner laid off 10% of full-time employees.
Chief executive Vilhelm Mar Thorsteinsson said he was "quite pleased" with the result, which saw net earnings hit €2.5m ($3m), compared to €2.8m in 2019.
This was above the company's expectations.
The CEO added: "We are really seeing operational improvements from our streamlining efforts in the last six to 12 months, where we have...reduced number of full-time employees by 10% from year-end 2019, adjusted our container and reefer sailing systems and integrated offices.
"This has been an important factor in offsetting a negative development in cargo volume and impact of Covid-19 and we are determined to make these improvements sustainable going forward."
Revenue amounted to €160.6m, a decrease of €6.9m or 4.1% when compared with the same quarter in 2019.
This figure was mainly affected by a 5.3% lower volumes in liner services and €4m lower contribution of services in Iceland because of the weakening of the Icelandic krona.
Total expenses amounted to €144.6m, a decrease of €7.1m.
Salaries chopped
The company logged a reduction in salaries of €4m or 11.9%.
In June it consolidated its headquarters under one roof creating, cutting space by 50% or 3,200 square metres.
"This has been well received by our employees and I am happy to see the positive impact it has on our company culture already," the boss added.
The cash balance is "good", the company said. It took out an additional €10m revolving credit facility to strengthen access to liquidity.
The first half ended with a net loss of €2.5m, compared to net earnings of €0.3m a year ago.
"We see an increasing interest from Icelandic companies to export goods to Greenland and expect trade between the two countries to increase," Eimskip said.
