HONG KONG's Orient Overseas (International) Ltd (OOIL), owner of container carrier OOCL, posted a first half net loss of US$15.3 million from revenues of $3.02 billion, against a US$116.5 million profit in the corresponding period last year.

OOCL, principal business of OOIL, also posted a 1.5 per cent decrease in container liftings to 2.55 million TEU as revenue per box fell 2.2 per cent in the first half. Despite the bad news, liquid assets exceeded $2.37 billion as of June 30, the company declared.

"The global economy continued to be uncertain during the first half of 2013, and the container industry faced the challenges of weak cargo growth, capacity oversupply and high bunker costs," said group chairman CC Tung.

"Market growth across major trades grew 2.2 per cent during the first half. While the markets expect a more robust second half on the demand side, the industry is still expecting a full year newbuilding supply increase of 10 per cent or 270 new ships in 2013," he said.

The company said the first half was marked by a deterioration of freight rates from the last quarter of 2012, especially on the Asia-Europe trade, and weak transpacific and intra-Asia pricing.

"A series of rate increases during the second quarter in the market on the east-west trades generally could not be sustained," Mr Tung said.

OOCL also took delivery of two 8,888-TEU vessels and five 13,200 TEUer during the first half as part of its "retonnage programme".

Said Mr Tung: "We ordered ten 13,200-TEU newbuildings in 2011 and disposed of six mid-1990s 5,400-TEU vessels in 2011 and 2012. Out of the 10 newbuildings, four are chartered to our alliance partner on a short-term basis."

All 10 vessels are expected to improve the company's cost structure given their size and design, he said. "In addition, we will take delivery of our remaining four 8,888-TEU vessels in 2014 and 2015. These were delayed as part of our joint initiative with the shipyard to improve main engine efficiency," he said.

"There seems to be early indications that the global economic conditions are set to improve. We need to be mindful, however, that the slowdown of the Chinese economy, the ongoing economic restructuring in Europe, and the uncertainties around the sustainability and strength of the recoveries in the US and Japan continues to pose challenges for the global economy," said Mr Tung.

Said acting chief financial officer Alan Tung: "We remain focused in our efforts to maintain a strong and liquid balance sheet. This is especially important during challenging times as it allows the group the ability to retain the widest degree of initiative and flexibility as a competitive edge."