Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OOIL) announced its revenue of USD3.301 billion for the first half of 2019, 5.95% up compared to the same period of 2018.，with the gross profit of USD403 million, 64.4% up. Profit attributable to equity holders of the company for the first half of 2019 was USD139 million, whereas loss attributable to equity holders of the company for the first half of 2018 was USD10.32 million. Earnings per ordinary share was US22.2 cents, and interim dividend was US6.66 cents per ordinary share.
Growth on the Asia-Europe trade was better than the performance seen on the Trans-Pacific trade, according to the report. Liftings increased by 8.5%, with revenue increasing by 5.0%, compared to the same period in 2018. The increase in liftings is certainly welcome, but the lower increase in revenue is a reminder that there is still some need for caution for the outlook for this trade.
In general, the European economies are not performing as strongly as the US economy (with France and the UK doing better than most of the others), and there is some caution about how strong the trading environment might be in the second half. Many of the shorter-haul routes in the Intra-Asia trade have performed relatively better than in previous years. The longer-haul routes between Asia and the Middle East, and Asia and the Indian subcontinent have been more challenging trading environments.