Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), one of the world's biggest container shippers, on Friday posted red figures for the second quarter and warned of a full-year loss should the global economy further worsen, according to dpa. For the three months through June, NOL reported a net loss of 57 million US dollars, reversing a profit of 100 million US dollars from a year earlier. Quarterly revenue was almost flat, rising just 1 per cent year-on-year to 2.15 billion US dollars, NOL said in a statement. "Conditions are challenging throughout the shipping industry," said chief executive Ronald Widdows. NOL said deteriorating conditions in the global economy weakened trade demand and continued to put pressure on freight rates, while higher fuel prices affected operating costs. "Unless these conditions improve, NOL will post a full-year loss," the company said. For the first half of the year, NOL posted a net loss of 67 million US dollars, compared to a 1-million-dollar profit from a year ago, while revenue grew 9 per cent to 4.6 billion US dollars. According to Paris-based industry analyst Alphaliner, NOL's wholly-owned container shipping business APL currently ranked seventh worldwide based on fleet capacity.
