NOL in Q2 net loss of $57 m

(Reuters):  Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), the world’s seventh largest container shipping firm, reported a $57 million second quarter loss, hit by falling freight rates and soaring fuel price, but the number was not as bad as analysts forecast.

The company, around two-third owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, posted a net profit of $100 million in the year-ago period. This year, the average of analysts’ expectations for the quarter was a net loss of $62.7 million.

Its revenue in the quarter climbed 1 percent to $2.15 billion.

“Conditions are challenging throughout the shipping industry,” said NOL chief executive officer Ronald Widdows.

Deteriorating conditions in the global economy were resulting in weakened trade demand and continued pressure on freight rates, NOL said in a statement.

“Unless these conditions improve, NOL will post a full year loss,” it said.

The earnings came after German tourism and shipping group TUI AG (TUIGn.DE) reported an 11 percent fall in the June quarter underlying earnings and abandoned its forecast for higher 2011 profit.

The head of Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping firm, recently told a newspaper that container freight rates were low on Asia-to-Europe routes because of a glut of capacity entering the market.