And the article at The Loadstar I was going for when diverted by the Deutsche Post DHL profit story.
From The LoadStar:
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) have upgraded their credit ratings for ocean carriers Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM ahead of expected bumper third-quarter earnings for the container line sector.
Hapag-Lloyd’s rating is up by one notch, from ‘B+’ to ‘BB-’, with a ‘positive’ outlook, the highest rating assigned to the carrier since 2010.
S&P said it expected Hapag-Lloyd to continue its solid performance, with a strengthened cash flow and reduced debt, resulting in “stronger-than-expected credit metrics”.
Hapag-Lloyd chief financial officer Mark Frese said: “We are very pleased that our earnings performance and our consistent cost management as well as our deleveraging efforts are positively recognised with this S&P rating action.”
Hapag-Lloyd delivered a net profit of $287m in the second quarter. According to Alphaliner analysis, it achieved the second-highest operating margin of the top ten carriers, at 11.7%, after Evergreen’s 12% ebitda margin.
Meanwhile, the ratings agency has revised its ‘B+’ outlook for CMA CGM from ‘negative’ to ‘positive’....
....MUCH MORE
