Hanjin profit up 166% even as total container volume dips

Korean ocean carrier Hanjin Shipping said Wednesday its first half 2008 profit was up 166 percent despite a 4 percent decline in container volume.

Its business results for the first half of 2008 included total sales of KRW 4.24 trillion ($4.2 billion) and operating profit of KRW 207.2 billion ($205.7 million).

Hanjin said profit reached $45 million from January to June with help from floating fuel surcharge and a spike in westbound transpacific traffic.

Despite the slowdown in the U.S. economy and slower growth in overall Asia/Europe trade, an increase in the transpacific westbound cargo volume and the application of the floating bunker charge led to a positive result, the carrier said. Although we expect the transport cargo volume to grow as we enter the annual peak season, we will concentrate all our efforts in achieving our 2008 targets by rationalizing our services and improving the cost control throughout our organization. Revenue for Hanjin's container division rose 20.3 percent, to $3.2 billion, while bulk cargo revenue grew by 97.3 percent to $1 billion.