Pan Ocean operating profit up 60 per cent for Q4 2024; company concerned about 2025
Q4 2024 sales and operating profit increased by approximately 60 per cent year-on-year said South Korean shipping company Pan Ocean.
According to consolidated financial statements, sales in the fourth quarter rose 63.0 per cent year-on-year to KRW 1.68 trillion ($1.17 billion), while operating profit rose 59.8 per cent year-on-year to KRW 109.8 billion.
The dry bulk segment saw its operating profit rise by 37.2 per cent year-on-year despite the weak freight index in the fourth quarter thanks to the expansion of the operating fleet and the increase in the volume of transported goods, and the container ship segment also continued its good performance as favorable market conditions were maintained.
In the tanker segment, operating profit decreased by 21.5 per cent year-on-year due to the weak MR market, while in the LNG sector, operating profit is also on the rise due to the continuous delivery of new vessels with confirmed presidential contracts.
However, compared to the previous year, sales increased (31.2 per cent), but operating profit decreased (-14.3 per cent).
Pan Ocean said sales increased year-on-year due to the increase in operating fleet due to the strengthening of shipping business activity, and the expansion of grain business sales due to the increase in grain sales volume (3.11 million tons per year), but profitability was expected to decline slightly due to the impact of the increase in charter fees and the decrease in sea freight rates (down 21.7 per cent compared to the previous year).
Pan Ocean's operating fleet was 276 vessels as of the end of the third quarter of 2024 and 290 vessels as of the end of the fourth quarter.
"The shipping market in 2025 cannot be optimistic due to concerns about the strengthening of protectionism due to the second term of the Trump administration in the United States and concerns about the reduction in the effectiveness of ship supply due to the lifting of restrictions on the passage of the two major canals of the Panama Canal and Suez," said a Pan Ocean official.
