HMM slightly recovering after cost-cutting efforts

Hyundai Merchant Marine, Korea’s biggest shipping company by sales, said Wednesday its net losses narrowed in the second quarter from a year earlier due to a rise in sales.

Net losses narrowed to 200.7 billion won ($165 million) in the April-June period from 242.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating losses also narrowed to 112.8 billion won in the second quarter from 199.7 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 12.7 percent on-year to 1.39 trillion won during the cited period, the company said.

Hyundai Merchant said its cost-cutting efforts and increased sales helped the company to reduce its deficit.

In the first six months, Hyundai Merchant had net losses of 379.1 billion won, compared with 418.4 billion won in losses a year ago. Sales increased 15 percent on-year to 2.7 trillion won, while operating losses narrowed to 218.5 billion won from 369.8 billion won.

The shipper said it expects to have a tough second half due to the impact of the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, while a rise in fuel costs is also a concern.

©KoreaJoongangDaily