Singapore liner company Pacific International Lines has reported a near 90% decline in full-year profit for 2023, newly released figures show.
The company made a profit last year of $306.8m against the $3bn reported in the prior year period, according to filings with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
The Lars Kastrup-led shipowner saw revenue for 2023 slide by 53% year on year from $6.1bn to $2.9bn, as freight rates weakened.
“We thought that we were going into 2024 in a continued downward scenario because a lot of new ships were coming in. Eventually, we see the Red Sea situation develop in November, which has absorbed quite a lot of the excess capacity,” Kastrup told Singapore’s Business Times newspaper.
He added that the company has been sailing through the Red Sea to serve its markets in the region. However, this was only done after assessing the risks, including being a Singapore-affiliated company.
Following a restructuring in 2020, privately owned PIL is backed by Singapore state-backed investment company Temasek Holdings via investment firm subsidiary Heliconia Capital Management.
Separately, PIL announced on Friday that it will enhance its presence on the east coast of South America with two revamped direct services.
It said the upgrades to both services will be done in partnerships with liner giants Evergreen Marine, Cosco Shipping Lines and CMA CGM.
Known as East Coast Service 1 (ES1) and East Coast Service 2 (ES2), they will deploy 13 and 12 vessels respectively, with PIL contributing four ships to ES1.
PIL said it has also recently set up its own agency office in Brazil, Pacific International Lines Agencia Maritima (Brazil), and appointed an experienced team as part of efforts to deepen its ties with customers in Brazil and the larger Latin American region.
“With the continuing promising growth prospects of the Latin America market, we have seen strong trade flows between Asia and Latin America,” said William Ho, general manager of the long haul trade, line management division, at PIL.
“Following our enhanced presence in the west coast of South America, we would like to strengthen our presence in the east coast of South America as well to drive connectivity and better serve the needs of our customers.”
PIL is ranked 12th among the world’s top container shipping lines and is also the largest home-grown carrier in South East Asia. It has developed into a global carrier with a focus on Asia, China, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Oceania and the Pacific Islands, with a fleet of around 100 vessels.
The company has a series of four 8,000-teu and four 14,000-teu container ships on order at shipyards in China for delivery in 2025.
