Shipping firm Hai An set for biggest ever profit

This represents a 50% increase from last year.

Hai An, whose core businesses include port services and marine transport, eyes revenues of VND3.145 trillion for the full year, up 61% from 2021.

In mid-November, when freight rates were high, Hai An took delivery of a new vessel, bringing its fleet to 11 with a total capacity of 16,000 TEU.

According to the General Statistics Office, marine transport firms handled nearly 99 million tons of cargo in the first 11 months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 29%, as stable production fueled a recovery in shipping demand.

According to data from Freightos, one of the world’s largest freight booking platforms, the Feightos Baltic Index, which tracks global container shipping, fell from $6,577 to $4,060 in the third quarter, but remained more than two times higher than the average of $1,800-2,000 a year earlier.

In Vietnam, the sea freight index rose by nearly 5% in the third quarter and 11% in the first nine months.

But Hai An expects revenues and profits of VND2.63 trillion and VND300 billion next year, down 16% and 64% from 2022.

Brokerage firm SSI Securities has forecast that the global index will gradually return to normal due to weaker demand and bigger supply of container ships in the near future.

Freight charges could decrease sharply next year if supply chain disruptions are fixed and China reopens to the world, it said.

BIDV Securities Company also predicted freight rates to start dropping along with import-export activities due to high inflation in many countries.