May 13 - Shipping and integrated logistics group Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding (WWH) reported an operating profit of USD143 million for Q1 2016, on the back of revenues totalling USD848 million during the quarter.
When adjusting for non-recurring items the total income and operating profit was down 3 percent and 32 percent respectively, quarter-on-quarter, indicating weaker underlying performance for the group in total.
"Our logistics segment was positively impacted by a non-recurring gain of USD80 million related to an acquisition of Vehicle Services Americas and CAT-WWL in South Africa during the quarter. In addition, a rebound in contribution from Hyundai Glovis also helped improve our figures in first quarter," says Thomas Wilhelmsen, group ceo at WWH.
"However, the shipping segment saw a sharp decline in seaborne transportation. Auto volumes dropped 21 percent, while high and heavy volumes increased 2 percent from a weak fourth quarter. The continued suboptimal trade mix also had a negative impact on results," says Wilhelmsen.
Wilhelmsen described a challenging outlook for the group: "Volume growth for our car and ro-ro services is expected to remain weak. With new investments in land-based services, the contribution from the logistics segment will continue to grow.
"We expect the challenging shipping and offshore markets to continue to affect parts of the maritime services portfolio. All in all, we expect the underlying business in the second quarter to be in line with the first quarter."
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