JONES ACT carrier Horizon Lines is back in the black - after US fines for price fixing nearly drove it into bankruptcy - with the company's announcement of a third quarter US$1.4 million year-on-year profit after suffering a $111.7 million same-quarter loss last year.
Quarterly revenue increased 4.5 per cent to $279.6 million year on year, an improvement attributed to higher shipping volumes, fuel-cost recovery and container rates that helped the company turn a profit.. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company's shipping volume rose 3.4 per cent, driven by more business in Hawaii and Alaska that offset less business in Puerto Rico.
"Horizon Lines generated a 3.4 per cent improvement in container volume and a 2.9 per cent increase in container revenue, net of fuel surcharges, for the third quarter, relative to the same period a year ago," said Horizon president and CEO Sam Woodward.
Horizon reports its earnings based on continuing operations, which means results from the China-US the company discontinued in the fourth quarter of 2011 were not included. Horizon suspended its transpacific Five Star Express service (FSX), connecting the US west coast, Guam and China with five 2,826-TEU US-flagged ships a year ago with the last sailing from Shanghai November 2, 2011.
Delisted on the New York Stock Exchange, after facing crippling federal price fixing fines, it continues to trade over-the-counter market under the symbol HRZL.