Latest news with #Haifa-based
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Zim profit up on higher container volume, rates
Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. said first-quarter net income was $296 million compared to $92 million a year ago, on total revenues of $2.01 billion, a 28% increase from $1.56 billion. The Haifa-based carrier said the improvements were driven by increases in both freight rates and carried container volume. The company (NYSE: ZIM) reported diluted earnings per share of $2.45 for the quarter ended March 31, up from 75 cents reported in the first quarter of 2024. 'As we look toward the remainder of the year, the operating environment is highly uncertain, driven by a range of factors impacting global trade and economic expectations,' said Eli Glickman, president and chief executive, in a release. 'For Zim, our focus is on controlling what we can and responding to market shifts quickly with decisive actions. We continuously assess how to best allocate capacity and have taken steps to modify our network to match the changes in cargo flow from China and other Southeast Asian markets into the United States, including within the last week, which underscores the agile nature of our commercial strategy.'The company carried 944,000 twenty-foot equivalent units in the first quarter, representing a 12% increase from 846,000 TEUs y/y. The average freight rate per TEU reached $1,776, up 22% from $1,452. Glickman said Zim continues to invest in modern ships, with 40% of its fleet now powered by liquefied natural gas. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $779 million, an 82% increase from $427 million y/y. Operating income – earnings before interest and taxes – rose to $464 million, compared to $167 million. Adjusted EBIT increased to $463 million from $167 company's profit margins also expanded significantly, with net income margin rising to 15% from 6%. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 39% from 27%, while adjusted EBIT margin more than doubled to 23% from 11%. Free cash flow for the quarter was $787 million, compared to $303 million in the same period a year ago. Zim declared a dividend of 74 cents per share. Despite market uncertainties, the company maintained guidance for Adjusted EBITDA between $1.6 billion and $2.2 billion and adjusted EBIT between $350 million and $950 million. Find more articles by Stuart Chirls container tsunami heading to Los Angeles, says port chief US trade representative holds second hearing on Chinese ship feesLong Beach sees record TEUs on trade war effect Hapag-Lloyd expects swift China ramp-up after bookings jump 50% The post Zim profit up on higher container volume, rates appeared first on FreightWaves.
Newsweek
19-05-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
China Expanding Haifa Port, Endangering Israeli and American Security
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. "Israel must halt this expansion, reassess the Haifa arrangement, and align itself once again with the values and interests it claims to share with the United States," Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh, a former member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, wrote in a recent op-ed. "Anything less is a betrayal of our shared security—and of the American trust we rely on." In March, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued permission to China's state-owned Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) to double the capacity of its Bay Port in Haifa. The controversial decision entrenches China in one of Israel's most strategic locations and reflects the continuing ambivalence of countries toward the Chinese Communist Party. Israeli security professionals in 2015 were alarmed when Israel Ports Co., without adequate interagency review, selected SIPG to run the Haifa port for 25 years. An Israeli Navy fast patrol boat cruises in the port of Haifa in northern Israel on October 30, 2024. An Israeli Navy fast patrol boat cruises in the port of Haifa in northern Israel on October 30, 2024. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images The threat was obvious. Haifa Bay Port is close to Haifa's airport and is a mere 1.8 kilometers away from the Israeli navy's main base. Haifa, in the northern part of the country, has the Jewish state's largest port. "Israel's seaports are critical strategic infrastructure," Shaul Chorev, a retired Israeli Navy rear admiral and now a director at the Haifa-based Institute for Maritime Policy and Strategy, told Newsweek. The Haifa Bay Port, he pointed out, "is considered to be amongst the country's most important strategic assets." "To operate the facility, Shanghai International Port Group will have to connect to all the internet systems of both the harbor and the Ministry of Transportation, exposing them to manipulation, data mining and cyber warfare in the service of Chinese government interests," states the September 2019 report by the University of Haifa-Hudson Institute Consortium on the Eastern Mediterranean, co-chaired by Rear Admiral Chorev. "Given the military and intelligence ties among China, Russia and Iran, the Haifa port arrangements create the risk that China might, under some circumstances, obtain sensitive Israeli naval, merchant shipping and maritime infrastructure information and provide it to Iran." Iran, therefore, will now have an expanded listening post in Haifa. SIPG can monitor what comes in and out of that port, especially general cargo. At a time of war, the Chinese company could disable cranes at the port or even engage in acts of sabotage, damaging or disabling ships. Why would the Netanyahu government allow the Haifa port expansion? For too long there has been a failure, around the world but especially in the U.S., to acknowledge the danger posed by China's regime. Even today, in the face of clear evidence that the regime leverages investment and commercial relations to accomplish malicious ends, countries continue to accept Chinese money. The one obvious solution for Israel is to cancel SIPG's concession. A cancellation, Kamal-Mreeh told Newsweek, "would likely be a highly complex and sensitive move" and "would require a strong political consensus in Israel." Once such a consensus is reached, there are few legal impediments to a cancellation. Section 9(b) of the May 2015 contract awarding the port concession to SIPG provides that Israel's transport minister, with the consent of the finance minister and after consultation with SIPG, may "cancel or restrict the authorization if he deems it necessary to address the needs of the economy or for reasons of public interest." China's backing for attacks on Israel would seem to qualify as a "reason of public interest." The Chinese state, for instance, has provided and continues to provide economic, diplomatic, propaganda, and weapons support for Iran's October 7 attack on Israel, and since then Beijing has gone all-in on the Palestinian cause. All three main Iranian proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi militia—have large quantities of Chinese weapons. China supplies critical components, such as computer chips, for Iran's own weaponry. Of even greater concern, China has provided most of what Iran needs for its nuclear weapons program. For a long time, the international community looked the other way as China, both directly and through the nuclear black market ring of Dr. A.Q. Khan of Pakistan, helped Iran's "atomic ayatollahs" enrich uranium for the world's most destructive devices and take other steps needed for a bomb. Is cancellation of the port concession possible? "The feasibility depends largely on the evolving regional security context and the level of support from key allies, particularly the United States," said Kamal-Mreeh, now CEO of Washington, D.C.-based GKM Global Consulting. "Growing concerns over national security and critical infrastructure resilience—especially in light of shifting global alliances—could push the issue higher on Israel's strategic agenda." China will certainly be upset if SIPG is ejected. Beijing is now throwing a tantrum because CK Hutchison, a public Hong Kong company, had tentatively agreed to sell to BlackRock 199 berths in 43 ports in 23 countries. Two of the ports are in the Panama Canal Zone. Beijing's intervention in the BlackRock deal shows that it considers ports to be strategic assets, which should encourage the rest of the world to consider these facilities in the same light. Panama's comptroller general and attorney general are now seeking to cancel CK Hutchison's concessions to its two Canal Zone ports. Israel should be doing the same with SIPG's port in Haifa. Gordon G. Chang is the author of Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America and The Coming Collapse of China. Follow him on X @GordonGChang. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Middle East Eye
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Middle East Eye
Israeli police interrogate Palestinian comedian over stand-up shows
Israeli police briefly detained and questioned Palestinian artist and comedian Nidal Badarneh on Monday over his stand-up shows, according to his family. His home in Haifa was raided, and the Palestinian citizens of Israel was taken in for investigation under the pretext of "posing a danger to the public," the family told Arab48 news outlet. The arrest followed calls from far-right Israeli groups to cancel his shows, including one in Nazareth last Friday. Israeli officers also reportedly pressured gallery owners to cancel his performances without legal grounds. Another show in Haifa was cancelled by police to "preserve the safety of the audience," with far-right groups claiming the show addressed Israeli detainees in Gaza. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters His family believes the arrest is part of a broader campaign against Badarneh, fuelled by far-right incitement. They accused police of targeting him through threats to cancel his shows. "This arrest comes as a result of a fierce fascist media incitement campaign against Nidal and the comedic artistic content he presents," they said. 'The police anywhere in the world don't engage in this form of 'bullying,' but it seems they're acting based on the incitement of the far-right' - Nidal Badarneh, comedian Badarneh had previously spoken to Arab48, saying Israeli police warned him not to perform in Nazareth. He criticised the police for bypassing the law and acting as a "body separate from the law". "They told me word for word, 'It's not good for you to come to Nazareth, and if you hold the show, we will take action and not allow you to do so,'' the comedian said. "The police anywhere in the world don't engage in this form of 'bullying,' but it seems they're acting based on the incitement of the far-right. The bans on the shows in Haifa and Nazareth have no legal basis." Badarneh plans to take legal action, working with Adalah, a Haifa-based legal centre, to protect his rights and continue his work. The centre sent an urgent letter to the Israeli attorney general last week urging intervention to stop the targeting of Badarneh. "The police have recently been exploiting this charge extensively to investigate violations of freedom of expression illegally and to avoid obtaining the required approvals from the Public Prosecution,' the centre said. Silencing dissenting voices Adalah also highlighted that the "unlawful" political persecution of Badarneh was part of a wider effort to suppress Palestinian expression in Israel since 7 October 2023. This has led to nearly 200 incitement charges and numerous illegal arrests aimed at intimidating artists and halting their performances. Palestinian citizens of Israel brace for extremist attacks as incitement spreads Read More » On Wednesday, Israeli police raided the home of a journalist and former game announcer for the Bnei Sakhnin football club, Saeed Hassanain. The Palestinian citizen of Israel was arrested on suspicion of "incitement" after criticising Israel and the army's actions during an interview with Al-Aqsa TV. He stated, 'The IDF is an occupying army, Israel is the enemy." Hassanain denounced Palestinian citizens of Israel who enlisted in the army, calling them "weak-minded". He also praised Hamas for how they treated captives held in Gaza, saying: "The Islamic Resistance acted with complete humanity according to Islamic law and proved to the world that Hamas preserves human dignity and respects the women who were captured on 7 October. Hamas defended them according to religious teachings, Islamic law, and Palestinian conscience." Hassanain's remarks caused public anger in Israel, leading to his dismissal as the Bnei Sakhnin's announcer and his arrest.
