NOL posts Q4 loss amid freight rate drop

SINGAPORE (AP) - Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) says it posted a loss during the fourth quarter as a glut of container ships and waning global trade undermined freight rates.

NOL said in a statement on Wednesday that it had a loss of US$320 million (S$402 million) in the October-December period, reversing a profit of US$177 million during the same period a year earlier.

NOL said revenue in the fourth quarter fell 13 per cent to US$2.4 billion.

Chief executive Ng Yat Chung said South-east Asia's biggest container carrier is 'urgently addressing costs and all other factors under our control to improve our performance'.