07/08
Thought I had discussed Q1 2023 results, but apparently I had not done so here. ZIM results were reported in late May 2023.
- Rev of $1.4B (63% plunge from last year)
- Adj EBITDA of $373M
- Net loss of $58M => no Q1 div
- Cash declined by over $350M to $4.2B
- Comparable Q1 volume declined about 10%.
PowerPoint Presentation (seekingalpha.com)
I think, given the market circumstances, one needs to dig into the last bullet more closely. Not all ZIM routes are the same. At least the last 3 years, the Pacific route has carried a large chunk of ZIM’s TEU volume, followed by Intra-Asia (joint 2nd in 2020). Slide 7 shows the traffic by major trade zones, with Pacific not declining as severely as I would have predicted. Intra-Asia is where ZIM saw the biggest volume hit.
A majority of ZIM’s fleet is chartered-in, and a vast majority of vessels are < 10K TEU. In 2023 & 2024, ZIM take delivery of charter-in fuel-efficient vessels, including 15K TEU vessels. Will be interesting to see if the vessels have a significant impact on margins in 2024 and beyond.