HMM plans to increase its container and bulk fleets as part of its growth strategy. (Photo: HMM)
HMM on Thursday unveiled plans to invest more than KRW 15 trillion ($11.3 billion) as part of a growth strategy that includes expanding its container ship fleet capacity from 820,000 twenty-foot equivalent units to 1.2 million TEUs by 2026.
In addition to expanding its container ship fleet, HMM will increase its bulk fleet from 29 vessels to 55 by 2026.
“HMM also plans to secure logistics infrastructure such as terminals in key locations to reinforce its profit structure,” Thursday’s announcement said.
The company said over the next five years it will spend KRW 10 trillion ($7.5 billion) on core assets such as ships, terminals and logistics facilities and KRW 5 trillion ($3.7 billion) on “future strategic projects to diversify HMM’s business.”
HMM announced in May that it achieved record first-quarter earnings, with revenue jumping 103% year over year from KRW 2.4 trillion ($1.8 billion) to KRW 4.9 trillion ($3.7 billion). Operating profit increased threefold from KRW 1 trillion ($790 million) in the first quarter of 2021 to KRW 3.14 trillion ($2.5 billion) this year. And net profit leapt an astounding 20,000%, HMM said, from KRW 154 billion ($116 million) to KRW 3.13 trillion ($2.4 billion).
As part of its environmental strategy, the company will “explore the likelihood of ordering ships using alternative fuels in the future. HMM will also make enterprisewide R&D efforts into the use of carbon-neutral fuels in cooperation with industrial players.”
HMM said it will invest KRW 150 billion ($113 million) in digitalization to improve its e-platform.
“We need to focus on strengthening our service competitiveness through reinforcing logistics and IT capabilities,” he said. “We also need to concentrate on specifying our medium- to long-term road map based on the development of new business opportunities. Constant efforts will be required to survive the paradigm change and to create a stable revenue stream.”
HMM, the world’s eighth-largest ocean carrier, currently operates more than 100 vessels.
