Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. finished the first quarter of 2015 with an $11 million net profit, following a sharp drop in shipping costs, and despite a more moderate decline in its revenue. Zim, which last summer completed a huge debt settlement with its creditors, reported $792 million in revenue from cargoes and related services in the first quarter.

Zim said this 8.6% drop, compared with the first quarter of 2014, was caused by lower revenue from transporting cargoes in containers and from related activities. In contrast to its weakness in revenue, the cost of the company’s transportation and related services fell 14.6% to $685 million, thanks to lower global oil prices over the past year, which cut Zim’s first quarter fuel costs by $64 million, leaving them 37% lower than in the corresponding quarter last year. Furthermore, quarterly costs for cargo handling were down $18 million. The lower costs enabled Zim to report a $40 million first quarter operating profit, compared with an $8 million operating loss in the first quarter of 2014.

More at Globes