Orient Overseas (International) Holding (OOIL) reported a 26% drop in profits but is restricting capacity to weather the coronavirus pandemic.
The Hong Kong-listed company saw profit fall to $102m for the six months ending 30 June, down from $139m in the same period last year.
But its container shipping division — OOCL — had reacted to "dire predictions of dramatically falling demand" by "calibrating services accordingly", the company said.
It said the adaptability of its liner division allowed the company "to resist the headwinds of the pandemic".
OOIL pointed to lessons learned after demand dropped in the shipping crises of 2009 and 2016.
These, it said, had taught OOCL "to prioritise cost management during the anticipated tough conditions of 2020".
OOCL has added capacity on some trades to meet increased demand since May.
"However, this tentative demand recovery is far from secure, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely," it said.
Higher volumes
OOIL reported a 2.6% drop in volumes in the first half year to 3.29m teu.
That was tapered by higher freight rates, which pushed revenues up to $3.43bn.
The company had also benefited from a fall in fuel prices, lower interest rates and a reduction in debt.
"Negative market growth occurred on several trades," OOIL said. "But, in some cases, this drop in liftings was outpaced by an improvement in freight rates."
OOCL placed orders in March for five 23,000-teu vessels for delivery in 2023.
Two were ordered from Dalian Cosco KHI Ship Engineering Co and three from Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co in China.
These will operate with ships of sister company Cosco Shipping Lines in the OCEAN Alliance, which includes France's CMA CGM and Taiwanese operator Evergreen.
Uncertainty
Some point to the challenges that OCEAN's members face in filling their newbuildings at a time of uncertain volumes.
The OCEAN members account for more than half the orderbook of container vessels over 10,000 teu, or around 57 ships out of around 100 on order, according to Alphaliner estimates.
Most are scheduled for delivery to CMA CGM and Evergreen, who face challenging task in filling the ships in times of expected low cargo demand growth, Alphaliner said.
