SIMIC

Adjusted ebitda of $262.1 million in the third quarter was also a record, and compares with $106.8 million in the same period last year, representing an increase of 145.4 per cent.

Total revenues for the period were $1.013 billion, its highest level for eight years and an increase of 20.3 per cent over the $842 million it earned in the third quarter of 2019.

And in contrast to many other carriers, it saw volumes grow year on year by 5.1 per ent to reach 762,000 TEU, reports The Loadstar, UK.

The average freight rate per TEU was $1,176 compared with $1,009 last year, a 16.6 per cent increase.

Chief executive Eli Glickman said: "Zim's outstanding results in the third quarter represent a new all-time record. This remarkable and exceptional achievement stems from our long-term strategy and vision and reaffirms it. I expect Q4 results to be at least as high.

"While market conditions were favourable in some trades, we are still facing the challenges of the pandemic, and market volatility remains high. Nevertheless, our agile response to market developments enabled us to perform better than ever in the current 'new reality'.

"Following the successful launch of new specialised services for the fast-growing e-commerce sector, we further expanded our reach and our offer to customers. During the quarter we also announced several new initiatives aimed at harnessing our technological and innovative expertise to shipping-related fields," he added.

Zim's strategy has largely focused on developing niche services while retaining a share of the transpacific market through a slot-charter deal with 2M partners MSC and Maersk.

The carrier recently announced the launch of a new Mexico-Tampa shuttle service for mid-December, adding to the four feeder services it already operates in the region.

It will deploy a 1,000-TEU vessel on a weekly, fixed-day schedule, departing Altamira on Fridays and calling at Tampa on Mondays.