Horizon posts US$13.2 million loss in first quarter

THE US based Horizon Lines container shipping company suffered a net loss of US$13.2 million in the first quarter on revenues of $286.1 million, which increased five per cent compared to a loss of $10 million in the same quarter last year due to "high fuel costs and increased contractual labour expenses".

The actual loss was higher than the analysts' estimate of 28 cents per share loss on a revenue of $276.7 million, reported Reuters.

"During the quarter, we faced ongoing rate pressures, high fuel costs and increased contractual labour expenses relative to last year, and we expect these to continue," said CEO Chuck Raymond.

Analysts did not expect Horizon's results to improve this year. "The outlook for 2010 results being comparable to 2009 is worse than we expected," said Stephens Inc analyst George Pickral.

(Source: www.schednet.com)