SCI Profit Plummets 53 Percent in Quarter

Net profit for Shipping Corporation of India fell 53 percent to $19 million during the third fiscal quarter, ending Dec. 31, compared with a year earlier, amid signs of a gradual market recovery.

Officials said net profit fell for a third consecutive quarter primarily due to much lower revenue from bulk shipping, which represented 75 percent of the carrier’s total sales in 2008-09. Income from bulk operations decreased to $145 million from $182 million on a year-on-year basis.

Overall income from operations declined 24 percent to $183.5 million from $241.5 million.

The liner segment slumped to a loss of about $10 million during the quarter, with operating income slipping to $47 million compared with $51 million in the same period in fiscal 2008-09.

The state-owned company, India’s largest shipping line in terms of fleet size, posted net profit of $52.3 million during the first nine months of 2009-10, down 67 percent from $160.6 million in the year-ago period. Overall revenue went down to $729 million from $904 million.

In a trade notice, the national carrier earlier said it will increase freight rates by $250 per 20-foot equivalent unit on all westbound shipments moving from the Indian Subcontinent to North Europe, the United Kingdom, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, as of Feb. 4.