Singamas posts first-half loss

Singamas Container Holdings Ltd, the world's second-biggest maker of sea-cargo boxes, posted a second straight loss as slumping world trade damped demand.

Slowdown: The US$27.4 million first-half net loss compared with a profit of US$13.6 million a year earlier. Sales plunged 87 per cent to US$99.5 million

The US$27.4 million first-half net loss compared with a profit of US$13.6 million a year earlier, the company said in a Hong Kong stock exchange statement yesterday. Sales plunged 87 per cent to US$99.5 million.

The container-maker built 95 per cent fewer standard boxes in the period as shipping lines pared orders amid falling shipments of Asian-made goods to Europe and the US. Larger rival China International Marine Containers (Group) Co reported a 19 per cent drop in first-half profit.

The company expects to post a narrower loss in the second half and it may also begin re-hiring workers as early as year's end in anticipation of a rebound in demand, chief executive officer Teo Siong Seng said in an interview in Hong Kong yesterday.
Singamas rose 2.8 per cent to HK$1.45 (S$0.27) at the close of trading in Hong Kong. It has almost quadrupled this year, compared with a 37 per cent climb for the city's benchmark Hang Seng Index.

The container-maker built 18,243 twenty-foot equivalent boxes in the first half, which sold at an average price of US$2,131 apiece.

Singamas is boosting production of specialised containers, which offers higher profit margins, to withstand the slump. It's currently developing a container to carry fresh seafood for a Chinese state-owned enterprise and another for hauling trash, according to the statement.

(Source: Port News)