ZIM : Financial results for the first quarter of 2024

HAIFA : ZIM announced its consolidated results for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

First Quarter 2024 Highlights

• Net income for the first quarter was $92 million (compared to a net loss of $58 million in the first quarter of 2023), or a diluted earnings per share of $0.75³ (compared to diluted loss per share of $0.50 in the first quarter of 2023).
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the first quarter was $427 million, a year-over-year increase of 14%.
• Operating income (EBIT) for the first quarter was $167 million, compared to operating loss of $14 million in the first quarter of 2023. Reconciliation items between operating income and Adjusted EBIT in the first quarter of each year were negligible.
• Revenues for the first quarter were $1.56 billion, a year-over-year increase of 14%.
• Carried volume in the first quarter was 846 thousand TEUs, a year-over-year increase of 10%.
• Average freight rate per TEU in the first quarter was $1,452, a year-over-year increase of 4%.
• Net debt¹ of $3.11 billion as of March 31, 2024, compared to $2.31 billion as of December 31, 2023; net leverage ratio¹ of 2.8x at March 31, 2024, compared to 2.2x as of December 31, 2023.

Eli Glickman, ZIM President & CEO, stated, “We are pleased with the current positive momentum in our business. ZIM’s solid first quarter results illustrate the incremental benefits from our strategic transformation and the outstanding execution of the ZIM team worldwide, as well as a significant improvement in global freight rates. Having taken important steps to revamp our fleet and enhance our cost structure, which exceeded our expectations, we delivered profitable growth in Q1 2024, as ZIM generated net income of $92 million. Per our dividend policy, we declared a dividend of $0.23 per share, or $28 million, representing 30% of quarterly net income.”

Mr. Glickman added, “Given the recent improved freight rate environment currently impacting more trades, we have increased our full year 2024 guidance and today forecast full year Adjusted EBITDA between $1.15 billion and $1.55 billion and Adjusted EBIT between zero and $400 million. Looking ahead, we now expect freight rates to remain stronger for longer than initially anticipated due to a combination of continued pressure on supply and availability of equipment and a recent uptick in demand. While the rate environment during the latter part of 2024 remains unknown, we are confident in ZIM’s strategic positioning as an agile container shipping player with a competitive cost- and fuel-efficient, modern fleet.”

Mr. Glickman concluded, “We look forward to further implementing our differentiated strategy to create a best-in-class experience for customers and generate sustainable value for shareholders. By year’s end, we expect the delivery of the final 16 out of 46 newbuild containerships that we secured, which include 28 LNG-powered vessels. With a fleet optimally suited to the trades in which we operate, together with declining unit costs, we are well positioned to achieve our volume growth targets and deliver on our commitment to profitability over the long term.”