Latest news with #HMM
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
HMM shares soar on W2tr share buyback plan
Shares of HMM, South Korea's top container carrier, sharply rose on Monday, following its announcement of a roughly 2 trillion won ($1.45 billion) share buyback and cancellation plan. As of 1 p.m., the Kospi-listed company was trading at 23,750 won, up 7.47 percent from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The stock had risen as high as 24,500 won earlier in the session. On Thursday, which was the previous trading day, HMM announced that it would repurchase and cancel 81.8 million of its shares to boost shareholder value, allocating 2.14 trillion won for the scheme. The offer price represents a premium of roughly 19 percent over the previous session's closing price of 22,100 won. The tender offer runs until Sept. 12. The share buyback plan comes amid the push to sell the company with a market capitalization of 24.5 trillion won. Following a liquidity crisis in 2016, HMM has been under the control of state-run entities. The Korea Development Bank and the Korea Ocean Business Corp. currently hold 36 percent and 35.7 percent of the company's shares, respectively. By reducing the number of outstanding shares through the treasury cancellation scheme, HMM can decrease the volume that future acquisition candidates would need to take on, easing the burden of a potential sale. Meanwhile, despite the large-scale shareholder return scheme, analysts remain cautious on the stock's outlook. "Following the buyback plan, a decline in share price is inevitable as the stock lacks upward momentum," Hana Securities analyst Ahn Do-hyun said.
Korea Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
HMM cancels W2tr in shares to lift stock value
Korea's largest container shipping company HMM announced plans to buy 2.14 trillion won ($1.54 billion) worth of its own shares by September as part of its efforts to enhance stakeholder value. According to the company's regulatory filing on Thursday, it will acquire 81 million shares by Sept. 12, representing 7.9 percent of its total shares listed on Korea's benchmark Kospi. The purchased shares will be canceled. 'The share cancellation will be carried out using distributable profits, and there will be no reduction in capital stock,' the company stated. As a result of continued strong sales over the years, HMM now has 13.5 trillion won in distributable profits. The cancellation, part of a 2.5 trillion-won shareholder value enhancement plan announced in January, is HMM's first since the company came under the control of state-run entities following a liquidity crisis in 2016. The Korea Development Bank and the Korea Ocean Business Corporation currently hold 36 percent and 35.7 percent of the company's shares, respectively. Securities firms see HMM's share buyback as a strong potential driver for the company's stock price, which has recently been weighed down by a bleak outlook for the shipping industry. 'US 'reciprocal' tax measures are likely to reduce container shipping volumes. At the same time, the global order backlog for new ships is equivalent to 31 percent of the current operating fleet, and low scrapping rates mean this excess capacity could lead to oversupply in shipping services,' said Choi Ji-yun, a researcher at Yuanta Securities. 'However, HMM's large-scale shareholder return is expected to help support its stock price, even amid the downturn in container shipping conditions.' The company has already felt the impact of declining freight rates caused by US levies, with operating profit dropping 62 percent year-on-year to 23.32 billion won in the second quarter. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, a key benchmark for container shipping rates, averaged 1,701 points in the first half of 2025, down 27 percent year-on-year. HMM's second-quarter sales declined only slightly, down 1.5 percent year-on-year, standing at 2.62 trillion won.
IOL News
07-08-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Transnet and Hotazel Manganese Mines sign 10-year deal
Transnet and Hotazel Manganese Mines (HMM), a joint venture operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of South32, on Thursday officially signed a 10-year contract under the third phase of the Manganese Export Capacity Allocation (MECA3) framework. The contract cements long-term rail and port manganese export capacity for 10 years, strengthening the collaborative partnership between the two organisations and providing operational certainty for one of South Africa's most established manganese producers. HMM, located in the Kalahari Basin of the Northern Cape, has been a significant contributor to the global manganese supply chain for over four decades. HMM consists of two manganese mines located in the Kalahari Manganese Field in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, namely Wessels and Mamatwan mines.
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
European Port Congestion is ‘Here to Stay' Through 2025
Congestion at European ports has been a common theme throughout the first half of the year, and there's very little sign that it will letting up any time soon. Vessels are enduring wait times of up to 10 days for a berth in the Port of Rotterdam's World Gateway Terminal, according to a customer advisory from HMM (Hyundai Merchant Marine) released Tuesday. More from Sourcing Journal China Threatens to Block $23B Port Deal Without Cosco Stake: Report What's the Status on Digital Product Passport Implementation? Trump Touts Trade Truce With Indonesia, Indicates India Might Not Be Far Behind The port's other major terminal, ECT, has a two-day wait for late arriving ships, but is enduring low labor turnout and longer-than-usual waiting times for trucks during peak hours. On Tuesday, Europe's largest seaport acknowledged what it called 'exceptional congestion' that has led to the wait times, mainly on land. 'Various causes, such as the transition to new sailing schedules (phasing in and out of services), high call sizes, changing alliances, work interruptions and challenging weather conditions at the beginning of the year have led to increasing waiting times on the land side of the deep-sea terminal operations,' the Netherlands-based port said. Although the Rhine River has experienced low water levels in 2025, the situation has 'not yet had a demonstrable negative effect on container handling' in the first half of the year, according to the port. Linerlytica data says Rotterdam has the fifth-most 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at anchorage among all ports, only behind three of China's biggest ports (Shanghai, Ningbo and Qingdao) and Singapore. Operational issues have befallen the Port of Antwerp-Burges as well, with its Noordzee Terminal seeing an average waiting time of 1.5 days, according to HMM. While the ocean carrier said dwell times were slowly improving, it also noted the period where containers can be accepted at the terminal's yard has been reduced from seven days to five days. Like Rotterdam, Antwerp has also dealt with heavy trucking congestion outside the port, complicating matters PSA, the terminal's operator, is suggesting truckers to consider truck slots during the night, and is imposing extra costs for those picking up cargo during peak hours. The port also attributed its own problems to other areas, including multiple labor strikes in recent months and supply chain shifts. 'Container ship arrivals remain irregular due to disruptions dating back to the Covid crisis, further exacerbated by rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea. The recent reshuffling of container alliances has temporarily led to simultaneous vessel calls and high cargo volumes,' said the port in a press release. 'Poor schedule reliability is complicating terminal planning: containers remain on site longer, and vessels are arriving with increasingly large loads.' Adding to the concerns at Europe's top two ports, as well as others like Hamburg and Bremerhaven in Germany and Valencia and Algeciras in Spain, more ships are flowing throughout the continent, particularly throughout Northern Europe. Intra-North European service capacity has grown by 17 percent, or 43,000 TEUs, compared to July 2024, according to data from Alphaliner. Carriers deployed more ships (235 compared to 223) in intra-North European services with a larger average size (1,253 TEUs vs. 1,128 TEUs). 'In terms of seasonality, July is typically the month wherein the most cargo is loaded from Far East to Europe, which means arrival into European ports in August and September,' said Lars Jensen, CEO of container shipping consultancy Vespucci Maritime, in a LinkedIn post. 'The lack of progress in removing port congestion in Europe is worrying seen in the light of this coming peak load of cargo.' According to E2open's Ocean Shipping Index, Rotterdam and Hamburg were the top two global ports contributing to longer export time performance in the second quarter. Vessels out of Rotterdam took 42 days to get to their destination on average, a three-day (7 percent) increase from the year prior. Ships sailing from Hamburg had an average journey of 43 days, or two days (5 percent) more than the prior-year period. 'The bad news is [port congestion is] here to stay for the remainder of 2025, causing operational disruption and pushing freight rates up,' said Peter Sand, chief analyst at freight benchmarking platform Xeneta, in commentary posted July 8. As of Friday, average spot rates from the Far East to Northern Europe were up 18 percent compared to end-June, Sand noted. The trade lane has seen container prices skyrocket 78 percent since the end of May to $3,410 per 40-foot equivalent unit, driven heavily by the congestion. 'Carriers have been forced to revise service schedules, whether that is avoiding port calls in congestion hot spots or calling at ports they would not ordinarily do so,' said Sand. 'This causes disruption that becomes exponentially difficult to unwind and another painful headache for shippers.' This month, Gemini Cooperation partners Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk announced their NE4/AE5 service on the Asia-to-Europe trade lane will temporarily operate with a revised port rotation starting in September. Hamburg will be called before Bremerhaven, and ports in Aarhus, Denmark and Gothenburg, Sweden will be added to the rotation. With these adjustments, the carriers aim to improve schedule reliability and address the fluctuating congestion. Additionally, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has adjusted its Asia-to-Northern Europe services, taking two port calls out of Antwerp. The Swan service will swap out Antwerp for the U.K.'s Port of Felixstowe, while its Britannia service will drop an inbound call at the Belgian gateway. Changing port calls isn't the only way carriers are trying to improve service throughout the ongoing disruptions. Hapag-Lloyd is introducing a 125-euro ($146) booking cancellation fee from Northern Europe as of Aug. 15. This fee applies to containers that are cancelled, reduced, rebooked within five calendar days before the scheduled estimated time of departure, or not loaded for any other reason. The fee is valid for all trades and container types. 'This update supports our efforts to reduce operational disruptions and maintain a high level of service reliability by minimizing the impact of last-minute booking changes, improving planning accuracy and equipment availability and ensuring fair access to vessel space for all customers,' Hapag-Lloyd said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Thailand-Cambodia Border Closures Snarl Regional Trade, Apparel Manufacturing
A long-running border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has escalated into a full-blown restriction in land border crossings. The move could potentially have a ripple effect on vessels seeking to stop at ports in both countries and compel apparel manufacturers to reevaluate their supply chain operations in the region. Tensions between the textile-producing nations inflamed in May when armed clashes along the border left one Cambodian soldier dead. More from Sourcing Journal Maersk Resumes Haifa Imports; Strait of Hormuz Shipping Normalizes Pakistan Slashes Port Qasim Export Fees 50% in Bid to Revive Trade, Lure Ocean Carriers China Port Volumes Hit Record Highs on US Tariff Truce On June 23, the Thai military ordered all permanent and temporary land border checkpoints between Thailand and Cambodia to close. This included suspending all cross-border vehicle movement and trade activities, except for humanitarian purposes, until further notice. In total, six permanent and 10 temporary checkpoints along the Thai-Cambodian border were shut down. Since the land border closures, seaports in both countries have remained open. There has been no direct impact on service lines yet, as there has been when India and Pakistan began a trade standoff that has effectively required ocean carriers to prioritize stops at one country over another. On Wednesday, ocean carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) sent an advisory 'strongly' recommending customers against dropping off cargo at a Thailand port and using the trade route for in-transit shipments to Cambodia under merchant haulage. Merchant haulage is a clause in which the shipper is responsible for arranging and paying for the inland transportation of goods, and not the container shipping liner. 'Please be advised that any arrangements made via this route may result in additional costs, longer processing times, and significant delays—all of which will be sole responsibility of the customer,' the HMM advisory said. 'We kindly ask for your understanding and strongly discourage the use of in-transit arrangements via Thailand to Cambodia.' According to the South Korean container shipping firm, the Royal Thai Army Headquarters has not issued any additional guidance on the situation. Aside from HMM, none of the other major carriers have delivered advisories to customers on how to approach trade with either country. 'Clearly shippers with any other carrier will face the same problem if planning to move cargo over land between Thailand and Cambodia,' said Lars Jensen, CEO of container shipping consultancy Vespucci Maritime, in a LinkedIn post Thursday. However, Cambodia-bound ocean shipments via Thailand may also face delays, according to an analysis from Kuehne + Nagel. The logistics giant listed Thailand's Laem Chabang Port as 'slightly disrupted,' saying that congestions at two major terminals have improved over the past week and truck waiting times have reduced to three hours. During the week prior, the port racked up delays for export shipments because of a shortage of containers at the Lat Krabang Inland Container Depot in Bangkok. This due to a lack of available truck drivers to transport empty containers from Laem Chabang to Lat Krabang. Despite this week's improvements, 'fluctuations may occur from day to day,' the Kuehne + Nagel update read. 'Turnaround time between Laem Chabang and the Lat Krabang area has improved to an average of three to five days, and is expected to remain stable. The port is allowing early export gate-ins on application.' The border concerns could have impacts on apparel companies with manufacturing operations based in Cambodia as well, even pushing them to seek new suppliers for the duration of the closure. According to a report from Nation Thailand, many Cambodian buyers have been forced to source products elsewhere, with some Thai manufacturers now needing to delay shipments or suspend operations—particularly for factories in Cambodia reliant on Thai raw materials, such as garments. The border drama unfolds as both countries are currently in negotiations with the U.S. in the hope of conjuring up new trade deals. As part of his wider array of country-specific 'reciprocal' tariffs on U.S. trade partners, President Donald Trump hit both neighboring southeast Asian nations with high tariffs at the start of April. Cambodia was slapped with a 49 percent tariff, while duties on Thailand goods reached 36 percent. Those tariffs got a 90-day reprieve shortly after to make room for the negotiations, with both countries since having 10 percent baseline tariffs on all products exported to the U.S. The countries have a deadline of July 9 before the tariffs revert to their initially proposed figures, although the White House referred to the target date as 'not critical' on Thursday. Trump said during a press conference Friday morning that he plans to send a letter to all countries next week, informing them of their tariff rate. The president acknowledged that July 9 was not a fixed date. 'We can do whatever we want. We could extend it. We could make it shorter,' Trump said. I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: 'Congratulations. You're paying 25 percent.'' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
