Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) reported a 15.7% drop in nine-month profits to JPY24.8bn ($202.4m) for the period ended 31 December 2014.
While profits dipped revenues for the first nine months of the year rose by 5.5% to JPY1.34trn. All business segments reported an ordinary profit apart from containerships which reported a JPY20.9bn ordinary loss, compared to JPY11bn loss in the same period a year earlier.
MOL also reduced its full year profit forecast by 12.5% to JPY35bn.
Commenting on the outlook, MOL said:” We assume that the dry bulker market will remain flat mainly due to seasonal factors. For the very large crude oil carrier (VLCC) market, we also expect that firm conditions will continue, mainly due to an increase in demand for offshore storage underpinned by lower crude oil prices. The product tanker market is also expected to remain firm, despite some signs of a correction from a surge in the market at the year end.”
“With respect to containerships, we can enjoy benefit from fall in bunker price, however, we cannot expect an improvement of the freight market,” it added.
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