August 5th, 2010, Seoul, Korea – Hanjin Shipping announced 2010 2Q business results with total sales of USD 2,031 million, operating profit of USD 143 million and net profit of USD 146 million.

Hanjin Shipping explained, “Despite the uncertainty of the world economy, we were able to return to black as a result of the increase in cargo volume and recovery of freight rates in major trades. However, we were not able to return to the performance before the financial crisis in 2008 both in terms of revenue and operating profit. Meanwhile, during the first half of the year, we worked on reducing our debt ratio through rights issue and stake sales of our Busan New Port Terminal.”

With the global economy in recovery, the container division saw 16.7% upturn in cargo volume to 953,917TEU QoQ. Total sales also experienced 23.2% rise up to USD 1,671 million and operating profit returned to black with USD 126 million owing to the rate recovery with increased volume in the major trades.

In case of the bulk division, total sales increased by 10.1% recording USD 360 million due to the soaring revenues of small/medium-sized vessels. Operating profit gained USD 17 million as a result of the company’s efficient fleet operation.

Regarding the rest of the year Hanjin Shipping comments, “For the container division, though we expect cargo volume to stay strong with the annual peak season approaching, we are also concerned that the uncertainty will remain in the market due to the scheduled deliveries of mega-sized vessels. In case of the bulk division, the demand for large vessels will slow down as China’s import of raw materials is decreasing. However, the demand for small/medium-sized vessels is likely to grow owing to the increase in demand for coal and crops.