JOC Staff | May 31, 2012 9:24AM EDT
State-owned Shipping Corporation of India lost $78 million in fiscal 2011-12, which ended March 31, compared with a net profit of $103 million a year earlier.
The national ocean carrier’s revenue for the year rose 12.5 percent to $784 million from $696 million in 2010-11.
“The financial performance is disappointing. The main contributors to the annual loss were much higher bunker costs, which jumped about 90 percent year-over-year to $284 million,” officials said.
SCI’s liner segment suffered a $57 million operating loss after reporting an $11.4 million profit in the previous year. Income from liner operations grew 3 percent to $214 from $208 million.
Profit from the carrier’s core bulk shipping business tumbled 83 percent to $12.4 million from $72.4 million a year earlier. Operating income from the bulk segment increased 17 percent year-over-year to $528 million.
The company’s operating expenses for the full fiscal year were estimated at $810 million, up from $600 million in 2010-11.
SCI, India’s largest shipping line, swung to a $65 million loss in the last quarter compared with a $13.5 million profit a year earlier. Income from January through March fell 17 percent to $201 million from $241 million.
The negative performance comes as the company has embarked on a $4 billion fleet expansion program aimed at doubling its overall cargo-carrying capacity to 10 million deadweight tons from the current 5.52 million dwt. The carrier has 26 vessels of 1.6 million dwt. on order with deliveries scheduled between 2012 and 2014.
