JEDDAH, 25 April 2006 — United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) has posted a net profit of $115 million for 2005. This marks the company’s strong performance during the year with a turnover exceeding $1 billion for the first time.
UASC Chairman Dhiyaa Habeeb F. Al-Khayoun said he was delighted at the financial results, which show a gross profit of $174 million and operating profit of $83.3 million.
UASC President and CEO Ken Sorensen said it had been possible to maintain the gross profit at close to the level achieved in 2004 in the face of the significant upward pressure on operating costs in 2005, particularly from rising fuel and fuel related expenses.
Sorensen said it would not have been possible to increase the company’s carrying capacity to meet the container trade growth in all markets UASC served in 2005 without adversely affecting profit margins due to the extremely high levels of charter rates and bunker prices prevailing during the year.
The high costs for chartering in suitable dry cargo vessels in addition to high bunker prices made it necessary to drastically scale back on break-bulk cargo operations in 2005 to those that could yield a positive result at the prevailing charter rates. Following a comprehensive review, UASC implemented a major restructuring of its organization during 2005.