以星航運 (ZIM) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome and thank you for joining the ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Q1 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

女士們，先生們，謝謝你們的支持。歡迎並感謝您加入 ZIM Integrated Shipping Services 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）

And I would now like to turn the conference over to Elana Holzman, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給投資者關係主管 Elana Holzman。請繼續。

Thank you, Natalie and welcome to ZIM's First Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. Joining me on the call today are Eli Glickman, ZIM's President and CEO; and Xavier Destriau, ZIM's CFO.

謝謝娜塔莉，歡迎參加 ZIM 2023 年第一季度財務業績電話會議。今天和我一起參加電話會議的有 ZIM 總裁兼首席執行官 Eli Glickman；和 ZIM 的首席財務官 Xavier Destriau。

Before we begin, I would like to remind you that during the course of this call, we will make forward-looking statements regarding expectations, predictions, projections of future events or results. We believe that our expectations and assumptions are reasonable. We wish to caution you that such statements reflect only the company's current expectations and actual events or results may differ, including materially. You are kindly referred to consider the risk factors and cautionary language described in the documents the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our 2022 annual report filed on Form 20-F. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，在本次電話會議期間，我們將就未來事件或結果的預期、預測、預測做出前瞻性陳述。我們相信我們的預期和假設是合理的。我們想提醒您，此類陳述僅反映公司當前的預期，實際事件或結果可能存在差異，包括重大差異。謹請您考慮公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中描述的風險因素和警示性語言，包括我們在 20-F 表上提交的 2022 年年度報告。我們不承擔更新這些前瞻性陳述的義務。

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to ZIM's CEO, Eli Glickman. Eli?

此時，我想將電話轉給 ZIM 的首席執行官 Eli Glickman。以利？

Thank you, Elana and welcome, everyone, to today's call. Coming off a record '22 in terms of EBITDA and EBIT results, the operating environment in the first quarter of 2023 reflected the continuation of the download pressure on freight rates that began in the summer of 2022. It's largely consistent with our expectations. In the first quarter, we delivered adjusted EBITDA of $373 million and adjusted EBIT loss of $14 million. Cash flow from operation was $174 million. Our total cash position of $4.2 billion at quarter end remains exceptionally strong.

謝謝 Elana，歡迎大家參加今天的電話會議。 2023 年第一季度的經營環境在 EBITDA 和 EBIT 結果方面創下了創紀錄的 22 年，反映出自 2022 年夏季開始的運費下載壓力持續存在。這與我們的預期基本一致。第一季度，我們實現了 3.73 億美元的調整後 EBITDA 和 1400 萬美元的調整後 EBIT 虧損。運營現金流為 1.74 億美元。我們在季度末的總現金頭寸為 42 億美元，仍然異常強勁。

In March and April 2023, after several months of persistent declines, we have seen some price gains, yet prices continue to slide since then. And we anticipate rate pressure to continue in the near future before we see more durable rate improvement in the second half of 2023. This continued price pressure is expected to similarly impact our Q2 results. Nevertheless, we continue to expect positive EBIT in 2023. Despite the challenging macro and industry dynamics, which our CFO, Xavier will address later in our prepared comments, we are reaffirming our full year '23 guidance, which we provided in March.

2023 年 3 月和 4 月，在經歷了幾個月的持續下跌之後，我們看到了一些價格上漲，但此後價格繼續下滑。我們預計在 2023 年下半年我們看到更持久的利率改善之前，利率壓力將在不久的將來繼續存在。這種持續的價格壓力預計將同樣影響我們的第二季度業績。儘管如此，我們仍然預計 2023 年的息稅前利潤為正。儘管宏觀和行業動態充滿挑戰，我們的首席財務官 Xavier 稍後將在我們準備好的評論中談到這一點，但我們重申我們在 3 月份提供的 23 年全年指導方針。

Going to Slide #4. It is important to highlight that ZIM understood during the highly lucrative market period of the last 2 years that a more normalized operational environment was on the horizon. By being proactive in adapting our vessel chartering strategy and improving our cost structure, we are better positioned to operate in this environment as we seek to create sustainable value over the long term. Additionally, our robust balance sheet and ample liquidity enables ZIM to operate from a position of strength and maintain a long-term view during this downturn.

轉到幻燈片#4。重要的是要強調，以星在過去兩年利潤豐厚的市場時期了解到，一個更加規範化的運營環境即將出現。通過積極調整我們的船舶租賃戰略和改善我們的成本結構，我們在尋求長期創造可持續價值的同時，能夠更好地在這種環境下運營。此外，我們穩健的資產負債表和充足的流動性使 ZIM 能夠在經濟低迷時期保持強勢運營並保持長遠眼光。

We remain cautious in our cash allocation decisions and focus on supporting future profitable growth. In total, we secured fuel charter agreements, 46 new builds, including 28 state-of-the-art LNG dual-fuel vessels. This cost competitive and fuel-efficient newbuild capacity supports our commercial strategy and advance our sustainability objectives. To remind you, our agreements include 10,000 TEU, 15,000 TEU LNG fuel vessels, which are ideally suited for the Asia to the U.S. East Coast service; and 36 smaller, more versatile 7,000 TEU and 5,000 TEU vessels. 18 of these 36 vessels are also LNG powered. This new overall larger vessels will allow us to optimize our fleet composition. So while we expect the number of vessels we operate to remain stable, our operated capacity will grow.

我們對現金分配決策保持謹慎，並專注於支持未來的盈利增長。總的來說，我們獲得了燃料租賃協議，46 艘新船，包括 28 艘最先進的液化天然氣雙燃料船。這種具有成本競爭力和燃油效率的新建能力支持我們的商業戰略並推進我們的可持續發展目標。提醒您，我們的協議包括 10,000 TEU、15,000 TEU LNG 燃料船，非常適合亞洲至美國東海岸的服務；以及 36 艘更小、更通用的 7,000 TEU 和 5,000 TEU 船隻。這 36 艘船中有 18 艘也是液化天然氣動力的。這種新的整體更大的船隻將使我們能夠優化我們的船隊組成。因此，雖然我們預計我們運營的船舶數量將保持穩定，但我們的運營能力將會增長。

Under this planned growth in operated capacity, our fleet will be better suited for our trades and services.

在運營能力的這一計劃增長下，我們的機隊將更適合我們的貿易和服務。

Regarding our cost structure, we expect ZIM cost per TEU to decline as we replace smaller vessels with larger ones. Notably, we have already seen initial cost benefits in 2023 and expect further improvement moving forward. 6 of our 46 newbuild vessels have already been delivered. A second 15,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel vessel was delivered in April and the third is expected in the next couple of weeks. We expect the delivery of 4 additional 15,000 TEU vessels this year and the remaining 3 are expected in the first few months of 2024.

關於我們的成本結構，我們預計每 TEU 的 ZIM 成本會隨著我們用較大的船隻替換較小的船隻而下降。值得注意的是，我們已經在 2023 年看到了初始成本效益，並預計未來會進一步改善。我們的 46 艘新造船中有 6 艘已經交付。第二艘 15,000 TEU LNG 雙燃料船已於 4 月交付，第三艘預計將在未來幾週內交付。我們預計今年將再交付 4 艘 15,000 TEU 船隻，其餘 3 艘預計將在 2024 年前幾個月交付。

Being the first liner to operate LNG vessels on the Asia to the U.S East Coast trade is a significant commercial differentiation. And we are incredibly proud to be at the forefront of carbon intensity reduction among global liners. Not only is ZIM committed to a decarbonization strategy but we are also enabling customers to reduce their carbon footprint. Supporting our customers in their ESG journey is a high priority for us.

作為第一家在亞洲至美國東海岸貿易中運營液化天然氣船的班輪，這是一個重要的商業差異化。我們非常自豪能夠在全球班輪中處於降低碳強度的最前沿。 ZIM 不僅致力於脫碳戰略，而且我們還幫助客戶減少他們的碳足跡。支持我們的客戶進行 ESG 之旅是我們的重中之重。

For ZIM, our ESG vision is to consider and support the society and environment in which we operate. And to this end, we recently published our fifth annual ESG report, providing a comprehensive overview of our activities, accomplishments, as well as future goals and commitments. In this report, we published, for the first time, ZIM full Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions and announced our commitment to reducing ZIM's GHG emissions to net zero by 2050. This target is above and beyond the IMO goal. In the coming months, we will announce our road map to achieving this ambitious target.

對於 ZIM，我們的 ESG 願景是考慮和支持我們運營所在的社會和環境。為此，我們最近發布了第五份年度 ESG 報告，全面概述了我們的活動、成就以及未來的目標和承諾。在這份報告中，我們首次公佈了 ZIM 的全部範圍 1、2 和 3 溫室氣體排放，並宣布我們承諾到 2050 年將 ZIM 的溫室氣體排放量降至淨零。這一目標超出了 IMO 的目標。在接下來的幾個月裡，我們將宣布實現這一宏偉目標的路線圖。

Our fleet renewal program is a key element in our ESG strategy. Today, our use of LNG provides a clear benefit from an environmental standpoint but also from financial one, given the price of LNG relative to (inaudible). Following our long-term supply agreement announced last year, ZIM and Shell successfully completed the first LNG bunkering of ZIM Sammy Ofer in Kingston, Jamaica. This will be the routine bunkering port for 15,000 TEU vessels. We look forward to continuing to partner with Shell to ensure our fuel sourcing is well planned and of the highest quality as our LNG-powered fleet grows in the coming months.

我們的機隊更新計劃是我們 ESG 戰略的關鍵要素。今天，考慮到液化天然氣的相對價格（聽不清），我們使用液化天然氣不僅從環境角度而且從財務角度來看都提供了明顯的好處。根據我們去年宣布的長期供應協議，ZIM 和殼牌在牙買加金斯敦成功完成了 ZIM Sammy Ofer 的首次液化天然氣加註。這將是 15,000 TEU 船隻的常規加油港。我們期待繼續與殼牌合作，以確保我們的燃料採購計劃周密，並且隨著我們的液化天然氣動力船隊在未來幾個月的增長而達到最高質量。

Agility and excellence guide our commercial strategy as we continue to adapt our network to changing customer demand and identify attractive commercial opportunities. Our car carriers activity is such an example. The expansion of our services is on track and we now operate 14 car carriers to grow to 16 vessels in the next few weeks as planned. Tight supply and strong demand in these services continue to drive profitable growth in the first growth -- quarter. Similarly, we have been investing in our vessels to target better paying cargo. Over the last year, we've expanded our vessel capabilities and today, we believe that our vessel fleet is the youngest in the industry.

隨著我們繼續調整我們的網絡以適應不斷變化的客戶需求並確定有吸引力的商業機會，敏捷性和卓越性指導著我們的商業戰略。我們的汽車承運人活動就是這樣的例子。我們的服務擴展正在按計劃進行，我們現在運營 14 艘汽車運輸船，並按計劃在未來幾週內增加到 16 艘。這些服務的供應緊張和需求強勁繼續推動第一季度的利潤增長。同樣，我們一直在投資我們的船隻，以瞄準支付更高的貨物。在過去的一年裡，我們擴大了我們的船舶能力，今天，我們相信我們的船隊是業內最年輕的。

Also, we could now potentially deploy nearly 25% of our overall vessel capacity for the transport of temperature-controlled cargo. This is the highest percentage of all the top 10 carriers. Vessels can play a key factor in the success of certain trades, such as our new service from South America, West Coast to the U.S. East Coast. We announced earlier this year and that became operational in April 2023.

此外，我們現在可能會部署近 25% 的船舶總運力來運輸溫控貨物。這是所有前 10 名運營商中比例最高的。船隻可以在某些貿易的成功中發揮關鍵因素，例如我們從南美洲、西海岸到美國東海岸的新服務。我們於今年早些時候宣布，並於 2023 年 4 月開始運營。

Moving to contracts. Our commercial approach to secure contracts for 50% of trans-Pacific volume remains the same. We are close to meeting this target, though, as expected, rates this year are significantly lower than last year's contract rates. I would highlight that our contract volume this year represents a substantial increase compared to last year as our operated capacity has grown significantly. We are pleased in our ability to secure these larger volumes and believe that it is a testament to the good relationships we have with our customers.

轉向合同。我們為 50% 的跨太平洋運輸量獲取合同的商業方法保持不變。我們即將實現這一目標，但正如預期的那樣，今年的利率明顯低於去年的合同利率。我要強調的是，由於我們的運營能力顯著增長，我們今年的合同量與去年相比有了大幅增長。我們很高興能夠獲得這些更大的數量，並相信這證明了我們與客戶之間的良好關係。

We also continue to seek investment opportunities in innovative technologies in our core shipping and broader supply chain ecosystem. Our strategy is to invest in early-stage company and as such, the capital requirements are modest and the potential is significant. Moreover, we are actively involved with our portfolio companies to assist them in their growth trajectory. We recently led a new investment in Spinframe, an Israeli-based startup, after completing successful (inaudible) with the company. Spinframe did -- develop an innovative vehicle inspection platform that creates digital twins for vehicle throughout the supply chain to detect and report any defects and [discuss] from the assembly line to the end customer. We also recently participated along with other existing investor, in a Series B funding round, in WAVE electronic bill of lading, one of the -- of our earlier portfolio companies. We were pleased to see a new venture capital focused on investing in supply chain and logistics, leading this round.

我們還繼續在我們的核心航運和更廣泛的供應鏈生態系統中尋求創新技術的投資機會。我們的策略是投資早期公司，因此資本要求適中，潛力巨大。此外，我們積極參與我們的投資組合公司，以幫助他們走上發展軌道。在與該公司成功（聽不清）之後，我們最近領導了對以色列初創公司 Spinframe 的一項新投資。 Spinframe 做到了——開發了一個創新的車輛檢測平台，為整個供應鏈的車輛創建數字雙胞胎，以檢測和報告任何缺陷，並[討論]從裝配線到最終客戶。我們最近還與其他現有投資者一起參與了 WAVE 電子提單的 B 輪融資，這是我們早期投資組合公司之一。我們很高興看到專注於投資供應鍊和物流的新風險投資領投本輪融資。

On that note, I will turn the call over to Xavier, our CFO, for his remarks on our financial results and additional comments on the market. Please.

關於這一點，我將把電話轉給我們的首席財務官 Xavier，聽取他對我們財務業績的評論以及對市場的其他評論。請。

Thank you, Eli and again, welcome, everyone.

謝謝 Eli，再次歡迎大家。

On Slide 5, we present key financial and operational highlights. As Eli mentioned, our first quarter financial results reflected continued downward pressure on freight rates. In Q1, our average freight rate per TEU was $1,390, a 64% decline year-over-year. Revenues for the first quarter were $1.4 billion compared to $3.7 billion last year, driven primarily by a dramatic decrease in freight rates as well as lower carried volume. Our free cash flow in the first quarter totaled $142 million compared to [$1.5 billion] in the first quarter of 2022.

在幻燈片 5 中，我們展示了主要的財務和運營亮點。正如 Eli 所提到的，我們第一季度的財務業績反映了運費的持續下行壓力。第一季度，我們每標準箱的平均運費為 1,390 美元，同比下降 64%。第一季度的收入為 14 億美元，而去年同期為 37 億美元，這主要是由於運費大幅下降以及運載量下降所致。我們第一季度的自由現金流總額為 1.42 億美元，而 2022 年第一季度為 [15 億美元]。

Turning to our balance sheet. Total debt increased by $307 million in Q1, mainly due to the incoming vessels characterized by longer-term charter duration. Regarding our fleet, we currently operate 152 vessels, 138 container ships and 14 car carriers. Excluding the newbuild capacity, the average remaining duration of our current charter capacity is 25.5 months, essentially the same as prior quarter. I would note that our current fleet includes 6 newbuild vessels, that is 4 12,000 TEU ships and 2 15,000 TEU LNG vessels.

轉向我們的資產負債表。第一季度總債務增加了 3.07 億美元，這主要是由於具有較長租期特點的進港船舶。關於我們的船隊，我們目前經營著 152 艘船舶、138 艘集裝箱船和 14 艘汽車運輸船。不包括新建運力，我們當前租船運力的平均剩餘期限為 25.5 個月，與上一季度基本持平。我要指出的是，我們目前的船隊包括 6 艘新建船舶，即 4 艘 12,000 TEU 船舶和 2 艘 15,000 TEU LNG 船舶。

We have 17 vessels up for charter renewal during the remainder of the year with 37 up for renewal in 2024. In other words, we have a total of 54 vessels that are up for renewal compared to the expected delivery of 40 chartered newbuild vessels during the same time period. As Eli mentioned, in the short term, we expect the number of vessels we operate to remain fairly stable, yet we will grow our operated capacity with the delivery of cost-efficient newbuild capacity and redelivery of smaller, less cost-effective tonnage.

在今年剩餘時間裡，我們有 17 艘船需要續租，其中 37 艘需要在 2024 年續租。換句話說，我們總共有 54 艘船需要續租，而預計在 2024 年期間將交付 40 艘包租的新造船。同一時間段。正如 Eli 提到的，在短期內，我們預計我們運營的船舶數量將保持相當穩定，但我們將通過交付具有成本效益的新造船能力和重新交付較小、成本效益較低的噸位來增加我們的運營能力。

In the next slide, we present Q1 2023 results compared to Q1 2022 and also sequentially. The underlying dynamics for both comparisons are similar and are primarily the outcome of the decline in revenues. Specifically, Q1 results are driven by our disproportionate exposure to the trans-Pacific trade and the absence of 2022 contract revenue tailwind. Revenues for the quarter were $1.4 billion, while adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was $373 million and adjusted EBIT loss was $14 million. Adjusted EBITDA and EBIT margins were 27% and minus 1%, respectively, as compared to 68% and 60% in the first quarter of last year.

在下一張幻燈片中，我們展示了 2023 年第一季度與 2022 年第一季度的對比結果，並按順序進行了對比。兩種比較的基本動力是相似的，主要是收入下降的結果。具體來說，第一季度的業績是由我們對跨太平洋貿易的不成比例的敞口以及缺乏 2022 年合同收入順風推動的。本季度收入為 14 億美元，而本季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 3.73 億美元，調整後的 EBIT 虧損為 1400 萬美元。調整後的 EBITDA 和 EBIT 利潤率分別為 27% 和負 1%，而去年第一季度為 68% 和 60%。

Turning to Slide 7. We carried 769,000 TEUs in the quarter. That is a 10% decline compared to the same period last year and a 7% decline sequentially, as compared to the overall market decline of 7% and 4%, respectively. Compared to Q1 last year, lower volume on trans-Pacific, Intra Asia and Atlantic was partially offset by a higher volume of the [cross-Suez] trade. Q1 volumes were adversely impacted by further blanking, as well as changes we have implemented in our network and the process of repositioning those vessels.

轉到幻燈片 7。本季度我們運送了 769,000 個標準箱。與去年同期相比下降 10%，環比下降 7%，而整體市場分別下降 7% 和 4%。與去年第一季度相比，跨太平洋、亞洲內部和大西洋的交易量減少部分被 [跨蘇伊士運河] 貿易量增加所抵消。第一季度的銷量受到進一步消隱、我們在網絡中實施的變化以及重新定位這些船隻的過程的不利影響。

Next, we present our cash flow bridge. We ended the first quarter with a total liquidity position of $4.2 billion, which includes cash and cash equivalents and investments in bank deposits and other investment instruments. I would remind you that following the first quarter's end, we distributed to our shareholders a dividend of $6.4 per share or a total of approximately $770 million.

接下來，我們介紹我們的現金流橋。第一季度結束時，我們的流動性頭寸總額為 42 億美元，其中包括現金和現金等價物以及銀行存款投資和其他投資工具。我想提醒您，在第一季度結束後，我們向股東派發了每股 6.4 美元的股息，總計約 7.7 億美元。

For the quarter, our adjusted EBITDA of $373 million converted into $174 million of cash flow generated from operating activities. This quarter was negatively impacted by the last tax payment on account of 2022 taxable income in the amount of approximately [$290] million. Other cash flow items include $482 million of debt service, mostly related to lease liabilities and $32 million of net capital expenditure.

本季度，我們調整後的 3.73 億美元 EBITDA 轉化為 1.74 億美元的經營活動現金流。本季度受到 2022 年應納稅所得額約為 [2.9 億美元] 的最後一次納稅的負面影響。其他現金流量項目包括 4.82 億美元的償債（主要與租賃負債有關）和 3200 萬美元的淨資本支出。

We have a commitment of approximately $150 million and $340 million in 2023 and 2024 as down payments for newbuild vessels chartered primarily from Seaspan. To date, we already paid $26 million for the 2 -- first 15,000 TEU vessels delivered.

我們承諾在 2023 年和 2024 年分別支付約 1.5 億美元和 3.4 億美元，作為主要從 Seaspan 租用的新造船的預付款。迄今為止，我們已經為首批交付的 2 艘 15,000 TEU 船隻支付了 2600 萬美元。

Moving to our guidance. While our full year view has deteriorated somewhat, we still expect to generate positive EBIT in 2023 and deliver results within the guidance range provided in March. Specifically, we continue to forecast 2023 EBITDA of $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion and EBIT of $100 million to $500 million.

轉向我們的指導。儘管我們對全年的看法有所惡化，但我們仍預計 2023 年將產生正的息稅前利潤，並在 3 月份提供的指導範圍內實現業績。具體來說，我們繼續預測 2023 年的 EBITDA 為 18 億至 22 億美元，EBIT 為 1 億至 5 億美元。

Our underlying assumptions of improved freight rates and growth in volume driven by the end of the destocking cycle remain the same with improved results in the second half of 2023 as compared to the first half. Given the net loss we recorded this quarter, per our dividend policy to distribute 30% to 50% of our annual net income in quarterly installments, we are not distributing a dividend this quarter.

我們對去庫存週期結束推動運費提高和貨運量增長的基本假設保持不變，2023 年下半年的業績將比上半年有所改善。鑑於我們本季度錄得的淨虧損，根據我們的股息政策，分季度分期分配年度淨收入的 30% 至 50%，我們本季度不分配股息。

Now briefly discussing market dynamics, the supply demand balance for 2023 and 2024 points to clear risk of oversupply. Yet, as we have previously indicated, there are possible mitigating factors that may impact net effective supply growth. Slow Steaming has had a meaningful impact so far this year and has kept effective supply by up to 6%.

現在簡要討論市場動態，2023 年和 2024 年的供需平衡表明供過於求的風險明顯。然而，正如我們之前指出的那樣，可能存在影響淨有效供應增長的緩解因素。今年到目前為止，Slow Steaming 產生了重大影響，有效供應量保持了高達 6%。

Scrapping, in the first 3 months of 2023 has increased compared to the last 2 years but in absolute terms is still negligible. It remains to be seen if more vessels are sent to the scrap yard, as IMO 2023 regulations become more stringent and older vessels become less cost efficient to operate. Lastly, Slippage, as we have also experienced, it is happening but with limited expected impact.

與過去 2 年相比，2023 年前 3 個月的報廢量有所增加，但按絕對值計算仍然可以忽略不計。隨著 IMO 2023 法規變得更加嚴格，舊船的運營成本效率降低，是否會有更多船隻被送往廢料場還有待觀察。最後，正如我們所經歷的那樣，滑點正在發生，但預期影響有限。

On the demand side, you can see that globally, the demand pattern for 2023 is tracking similar pre-COVID partners of 2019 and '20 with a positive development towards the end of Q1. The dotted line for 2023 shows the expected volume for the remainder of the year, reflecting a 1.4% year-over-year growth and assuming equal distribution of that expected growth over the remainder of the year. Given the weak start of 2023 to date, volume is expected to improve in the second half of 2023.

在需求方面，您可以看到，在全球範圍內，2023 年的需求模式正在追踪 2019 年和 20 年類似的 COVID 前合作夥伴，並在第一季度末取得積極發展。 2023 年的虛線顯示了今年剩餘時間的預期數量，反映了 1.4% 的同比增長，並假設該預期增長在今年剩餘時間內的平均分配。鑑於 2023 年迄今的開局不佳，預計 2023 年下半年銷量將有所改善。

Now on this note, we will open the call for questions. Thank you.

現在就此說明，我們將公開提問。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question is from the line of Omar Nokta from Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Omar Nokta。

Eli and Xavier, I just wanted to maybe first off, just ask about the state of the market and so the ZIM response thus far, which you clearly talked about it in your opening comments, we've seen softer rates and whatnot. But just generally, can you maybe just give us some color on how you have shifted capacity around certain lines that you've exited or certain areas you've entered into? And just generally speaking, how have you shifted the overall operating strategy of the company, whether it's long term or tactical to sort of move through this difficult environment we're in today?

Eli 和 Xavier，我只是想先問問市場狀況，以及 ZIM 迄今為止的反應，你在開場評論中清楚地談到了這一點，我們已經看到了較低的利率等等。但總的來說，你能不能給我們一些顏色，說明你是如何圍繞你退出的某些線路或你進入的某些區域轉移容量的？總的來說，你是如何改變公司的整體運營戰略的，無論是長期的還是戰術上的，以度過我們今天所處的困難環境？

Thank you, Omar. Indeed, you're right that we always try to look to make sure we deploy our capacity where it makes more sense for us in order to generate profit. And this quarter has been quite significantly impacted by a switch of allocated tonnage between various trade lanes. To name a few, we exited or we suspended our operations between Asia to the U.S. West Coast, the Southwest Coast, the service that we had between South China and L.A., is a service that we suspended due to the significant rate erosion that we experienced on those trade. And we did reposition that capacity and upsized our service between Asia to Australia. That's one example.

謝謝你，奧馬爾。事實上，你是對的，我們總是試圖確保我們將我們的能力部署在對我們更有意義的地方以產生利潤。本季度受到各貿易航線之間分配噸位轉換的顯著影響。舉幾個例子，我們退出或暫停了我們在亞洲到美國西海岸、西南海岸之間的運營，我們在華南和洛杉磯之間提供的服務，由於我們經歷了顯著的費率侵蝕，我們暫停了這項服務在那些貿易上。我們確實重新定位了這種能力，並擴大了我們在亞洲和澳大利亞之間的服務。那是一個例子。

The -- we also closed a line that was not performing well on Asia to Australia and New Zealand with smaller vessels. And we redeployed that capacity and opened a new line between the south -- the West Coast of South America towards the East Coast of North America. So this is a new service that we've entered into, where we believe that the opportunity for growth and for profit are better. So we have shifted some of our capacity, closed line, opened new lines and we will continue to do so trying to maximize the vessel allocation for the capacity that we operate.

- 我們還關閉了一條在亞洲到澳大利亞和新西蘭的小型船隻表現不佳的航線。我們重新部署了該容量，並在南部 - 南美洲西海岸與北美東海岸之間開通了一條新線路。所以這是我們進入的一項新服務，我們相信增長和利潤的機會更好。因此，我們已經轉移了一些運力，關閉了線路，開設了新線路，我們將繼續這樣做，以最大限度地為我們運營的運力分配船隻。

That's helpful. And maybe just kind of on overall, maybe time charter activity because early in the comments, I think Eli had mentioned, as you take delivery of your very fuel-efficient and low-cost new buildings, you return some of the vessels in your fleet today but I just wanted to ask you know maybe big picture-wise, what we've seen in the chartering market over the past couple of months has been a real kind of resurgence perhaps, where vessels becoming available irrespective potentially of their age, have been deployed on 1- to 2-year time charters to the point where just on the outside looking in, they look very profitable for the shipowner. And yet for the liner, in the loss-making environment, it seems a bit cost prohibitive. Could you help maybe just reconcile what's going on? Why are liners still continuing to take vessels that are available today, continuing to put them on a 1- to 2-year charters given the type of environment we're seeing?

這很有幫助。也許只是總體而言，也許是定期租船活動，因為在評論的早期，我想 Eli 已經提到，當您交付非常省油且成本低的新建築時，您退還了船隊中的一些船隻今天，但我只想問你，從大局來看，過去幾個月我們在租船市場上看到的情況可能是一種真正的複蘇，無論船齡如何，船隻都可以使用，有部署在 1 到 2 年的定期租船合同中，從表面上看，它們對船東來說非常有利可圖。然而對於班輪公司來說，在虧損的環境下，成本似乎有點高得令人望而卻步。你能幫忙調和一下正在發生的事情嗎？鑑於我們所看到的環境類型，為什麼班輪公司仍在繼續使用今天可用的船隻，並繼續將它們置於 1 至 2 年的租約中？

Well, this is indeed, what I think you are suggesting or referring to here, Omar, is maybe the desynchronization between what we are seeing on the revenue line in terms of freight rates and the chartering market, which is still quite active and there is not that much capacity available there or idle to say the word. As far as we are concerned, we took decisive actions already a couple of years ago. And now we have a significant order book ahead of us in terms of newbuild, more efficient tonnage. So this is a priority for us to make room for that tonnage that is coming in, that is allowing us to upsize our services to be more cost effective in each of the trades where we end up operating.

好吧，這確實是奧馬爾，我認為你在這裡建議或指的可能是我們在運費方面看到的收入線上與租船市場之間的不同步，租船市場仍然非常活躍並且有那裡沒有那麼多可用容量，也沒有空閒說這個詞。就我們而言，我們早在幾年前就採取了果斷行動。現在，就新建、更高效的噸位而言，我們有大量訂單等待著我們。因此，這是我們的首要任務，為即將到來的噸位騰出空間，這使我們能夠擴大我們的服務，以便在我們最終經營的每項交易中更具成本效益。

And as far as (inaudible) goes, we are by and large, we're delivering most of the capacity that is coming up for renewal in terms of our chartering contracts. So we said we have 17 vessels that come in for renewal before now and the end of the year with another 37 vessels next year. Today, it is very likely that if the market remains what it is, we will redeliver most of that capacity again to make sure that we make room for the most efficient tonnage that is expected to come our way in the coming months.

就（聽不清）而言，總的來說，我們正在交付根據租船合同續約的大部分運力。所以我們說我們有 17 艘船在現在和年底前進行更新，明年還有 37 艘船。今天，如果市場保持現狀，我們很可能會再次重新交付大部分產能，以確保我們為預計在未來幾個月內出現的最高效噸位騰出空間。

Just to emphasize, you understand well the question and we see the market not behave as expected. On one side, lower than expected -- slightly more deflated and huge reduction in freight rate. And not from this side but we see that the bunker price, in general, the fuel reduced dramatically to the $1,200 per ton that we used to have in the past. And I understand that you expect the charter market rate would be at the same and you expect to see lower rates on the charter market. And on the other hand, on contrary, we see that rate on the charter markets are still high. So this is a question. We are not player in this market. And we cannot answer this question as for the charter but we follow and we don't have the right answer for that.

只是強調一下，你很清楚這個問題，我們看到市場表現不盡如人意。一方面，低於預期——運費略有下降，運費大幅下降。不是從這一方面，而是我們看到，總的來說，燃料價格急劇下降到我們過去每噸 1,200 美元。我知道您希望包機市場費率保持不變，並且您希望在包機市場上看到較低的費率。另一方面，相反，我們看到包機市場的利率仍然很高。所以這是一個問題。我們不是這個市場的參與者。我們無法回答關於章程的這個問題，但我們會遵循，但我們沒有正確的答案。

Now that's helpful. And clearly, you've stated, you have the 17 ships this year, the 37 next year. It sounds like you'll be returning those. And maybe just finally for me and I'll turn it over, just on the guidance, clearly, very, very, I would say, strong guidance relative to expectations. It's very second half weighted. Just wanted to ask about the second quarter and how that's developing. It sounds like, Eli, in your earlier comments that some of the pressures in 1Q are still present in the second quarter. Is there a way, if you're willing, to maybe qualify how does 2Q look thus far? Is it going to be similar to 1Q, slightly better, slightly worse? Any color you're willing to give on the second quarter?

現在這很有幫助。很明顯，你已經說過，你今年有 17 艘船，明年有 37 艘。聽起來你會退貨。也許最後對我來說，我會把它翻過來，只是根據指導，很明顯，非常，非常，我會說，相對於預期的強烈指導。這是下半場加權。只是想詢問第二季度的情況以及它的發展情況。 Eli，在您之前的評論中聽起來，第一季度的一些壓力在第二季度仍然存在。如果您願意，有沒有辦法確定 2Q 到目前為止的樣子？會不會和1Q差不多，稍微好一點，稍微差一點？你願意在第二季度給出什麼顏色？

We don't -- as you know, we are speaking about guidance for the year and we are not giving specific -- we cannot be specific on quarter. But you can understand from our guidance from 2 months ago that we are still reaffirming, we didn't change them. We said that the first half is going to be challenging. And now we are, after the first quarter, the first half of the first half and you can understand that in general, the first -- the second quarter is not going to be the best but as we said, they're still going with our guidance. So the first half is going to be challenging. We believe that the second half is going to be better than the first half. And this is what can we share and you can understand and take your conclusion from this guidance.

我們沒有——正如你所知，我們正在談論今年的指導，我們沒有給出具體的——我們不能具體說明季度。但你可以從我們兩個月前的指導中了解到，我們仍在重申，我們沒有改變它們。我們說過上半年將充滿挑戰。現在我們在第一季度之後，上半場的上半場，你可以理解，總的來說，第一 - 第二季度不會是最好的，但正如我們所說，他們仍在繼續我們的指導。因此，上半年將充滿挑戰。我們相信下半年會好於上半年。這就是我們可以分享的內容，您可以理解並從此指南中得出結論。

The next question is from the line of Sathish Sivakumar from Citigroup.

下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Sathish Sivakumar。

I got 3 questions here. So first, actually, if I look at the contract rate season, obviously, most of them should have been done by now. If you could share any color on how the contract rate season has gone so far? How much of your volumes of late have been fine given you've actually taken out one service out of West Coast? And the second question, if I look at your volume trends and actually, the Intra Asia has seen a big step down. I understand there is some Chinese New Year-related seasonality, if I look at Q4 to Q1. But even with respect to last year Q1 versus this year Q1, it has gone from 269,000 TEU to 219,000 TEU. What is driving that actually? Because we have seen some rebound in -- especially China has opened up and most of the Asia back.

我在這裡有 3 個問題。所以首先，實際上，如果我看一下合同率賽季，很明顯，他們中的大部分現在應該已經完成了。您是否可以就合同利率季節到目前為止的進展情況分享任何顏色？考慮到您實際上已經從西海岸取消了一項服務，您最近有多少交易量是好的？第二個問題，如果我看一下你的數量趨勢，實際上，亞洲內部已經出現了很大的下降。如果我看一下第四季度到第一季度，我知道有一些與中國新年相關的季節性因素。但即使是去年第一季度與今年第一季度相比，它也從 269,000 TEU 增加到 219,000 TEU。究竟是什麼在推動它？因為我們看到了一些反彈——尤其是中國已經開放，亞洲大部分地區都回來了。

So any color on what is the weakness driving that volume, especially in Intra Asia? And the third one, actually, on the cost. If I look at your OpEx rate you ex bunker, you cut -- you actually did a (inaudible) from bringing it down to [868] versus [997] last year. It is excluding bunker. How much more room do you have like to bring this further down, given that slow -- as you pointed out Slow Steaming is, as majority is already operationalized. And if I look at within lines, port cost has actually gone up versus last year, the only cost that has come down is cargo handling. So any color on how much more room that you have to, like, say, ex bunker cost would trend in the coming quarters? That will be helpful. Those are my 3 questions.

那麼，推動該交易量的弱點是什麼，尤其是在亞洲內部？第三個，實際上是關於成本的。如果我看看你的 OpEx 率，你的 ex bunker，你削減了 - 你實際上做了一個（聽不清）從去年將它降低到 [868] 而不是 [997]。不包括地堡。考慮到速度緩慢，您還有多少空間可以進一步降低這一點——正如您指出的那樣，慢速蒸汽是因為大多數已經投入使用。如果我看行內，港口成本實際上比去年有所上升，唯一下降的成本是貨物裝卸。那麼關於你需要多少空間的任何顏色，比如說，未來幾個季度的前地堡成本趨勢？那會很有幫助。這是我的 3 個問題。

Thank you, Sathish. So starting with the -- your first question with respect to the contract rate negotiation, those are still ongoing as we speak. When we compare this season versus the last -- the negotiations are taking longer and we have some of our customers still holding on, committing and agreeing to a rate. Our objective from a company perspective remains very similar to the one we had in prior years, which is to lock 50% of our expected volume with contract cargo and the remain exposed to the spot for the remainder of the 50%.

謝謝你，薩西什。因此，從您關於合同費率談判的第一個問題開始，這些問題在我們發言時仍在進行中。當我們將本季與上一季進行比較時——談判花費了更長的時間，我們的一些客戶仍在堅持、承諾並同意一個費率。從公司的角度來看，我們的目標與前幾年的目標非常相似，即用合同貨物鎖定我們預期數量的 50%，並在剩餘的 50% 中保持現貨供應。

As Eli also mentioned, since we are adding capacity by upsizing our vessel fleet on those trade lanes, de facto we are chasing and looking for more volume, this 50% represents more volume that we are willing to lock for the coming 12 months. So we are on track with our expectation, still finalizing contracts here and there. And obviously, from a rate perspective, the average rate that we are securing today are much lower than the ones that we secured last year and by and large are trending towards the current spot levels.

正如 Eli 還提到的那樣，由於我們正在通過擴大這些貿易航線上的船隊來增加運力，事實上我們正在追逐和尋找更多的數量，這 50% 代表了我們願意在未來 12 個月內鎖定的更多數量。因此，我們正在按照我們的預期走上正軌，仍在各處敲定合同。顯然，從利率的角度來看，我們今天獲得的平均利率遠低於我們去年獲得的平均利率，並且總體上趨向於當前的現貨水平。

With respect to your second question, Sathish, on the drop in volume on our -- what we label our Intra Asia business unit. It is -- Intra Asia for us is pretty wide. It also covers not only the trading within the Southeast Asia region but also Asia to Australia and Asia to West and East Africa. And this is mainly where we've seen a significant drop in volume on our Asia to Australia line. We have closed the service and this is the vessel that we've used and repositioned to open our new line from Latin America -- from the Southwest Coast of South America to the U.S. -- to the U.S. East Coast. So we closed one of our service in the quarter, therefore, impacting our overall volume on Intra Asia. And the same goes on Asia to Africa, which has been a market under quite some pressure in the first quarter. We've had a significant blank sailing.

關於你的第二個問題，Sathish，關於我們的 - 我們標記為亞洲內部業務部門的銷量下降。它是 - 亞洲內部對我們來說非常廣泛。它不僅包括東南亞地區內的貿易，還包括亞洲到澳大利亞和亞洲到西非和東非的貿易。這主要是我們看到亞洲到澳大利亞航線的貨運量大幅下降的地方。我們已經關閉了該服務，這是我們使用並重新定位的船隻，用於開通從拉丁美洲——從南美洲西南海岸到美國——到美國東海岸的新航線。因此，我們在本季度關閉了一項服務，因此影響了我們在亞洲內部的整體業務量。亞洲和非洲也是如此，該市場在第一季度一直承受著相當大的壓力。我們有一個重要的空白航行。

So if you look overall in the volume drop, where did we experience most of the drop, it's been on the transpacific, mainly Pacific Northwest, not so much the U.S. East Coast or the Gulf but Pacific Northwest and on Intra Asia, mainly the Australia trade and the Asia to Africa.

因此，如果你從整體上看體積下降，我們在哪裡經歷了大部分下降，它是在跨太平洋地區，主要是太平洋西北地區，與其說是美國東海岸或海灣地區，不如說是太平洋西北地區和亞洲內部地區，主要是澳大利亞貿易和亞洲到非洲。

And then to your last question, when it comes to what are -- the questions are, what are the additional room for cost extraction that we may have ahead of us, ex bunker. I think what we expect to see is the incoming effect of us getting delivery of our newbuild capacity. This is very important to us. And the cost of operating of 15,000 TEU ships on the Asia to the U.S. East Coast is clearly much lower than the current cost with the 10,000 TEU ship that we currently operate. We also, because of all the cascading that is going to ensue the upsizing of the trades but today, we deploy 6,000 TEU ships. And tomorrow, we will deploy those 10,000 TEU ships that will be freed up from our ZCP trade-in and so on and so forth, will result in pretty much all of our trade to a reduction in our cost of securing capacity.

然後是你的最後一個問題，當涉及到什麼時——問題是，我們前面可能有的額外成本提取空間是什麼，前地堡。我認為我們期望看到的是我們獲得新建造能力交付的即將到來的影響。這對我們來說非常重要。而在亞洲至美國東海岸運營 15,000 TEU 船舶的成本顯然遠低於我們目前運營的 10,000 TEU 船舶的當前成本。我們還因為所有級聯將導致貿易規模擴大，但今天，我們部署了 6,000 TEU 的船隻。明天，我們將部署那些 10,000 TEU 的船隻，這些船隻將從我們的 ZCP 以舊換新等方式中解放出來，這將導致我們幾乎所有的貿易都減少我們確保能力的成本。

So that's that. And I think on the variable cost, we will also and we continue to see an improvement on that front, which is largely driven by the improvement in the port and the terminal operations with less congestion, we incur less storage cost. We incur reduced variable cost on that front, which is also contributing to reducing our cost of operating. And lastly, there is another element, which is the commercial strategy and where we are seeking to increase our volume of exports of cargo from the U.S. back to Asia. So on the [weak leg] of the trade, improving the volume here contributes to reducing our cost of repositioning MT's equipment. So that is also the balancing cost, which is also a potential source of additional savings going forward as we continue to develop our commercial strategy.

就是這樣。而且我認為在可變成本方面，我們還將並且我們將繼續看到這方面的改善，這在很大程度上是由港口和碼頭運營的改善推動的，減少了擁堵，我們產生了更少的存儲成本。我們在這方面減少了可變成本，這也有助於降低我們的運營成本。最後，還有另一個因素，即商業戰略，我們正在尋求增加從美國返回亞洲的貨物出口量。因此，在交易的[薄弱環節]，提高這裡的交易量有助於降低我們重新定位 MT 設備的成本。所以這也是平衡成本，隨著我們繼續發展我們的商業戰略，這也是未來額外節省的潛在來源。

I've got a couple of follow-ups, if I may, actually. So Asia to you, as you closed the service and what would be the like run rate going forward? You -- should we think Intra Asia would probably follow the Q1 trends adjusted for seasonality, of course but would you see some more impact of that service to come through? And then second one, if I could actually ask on the newbuilds that you've just put into service, what are the utilization of those vessels right now?

實際上，如果可以的話，我有幾個後續行動。那麼亞洲對你來說，當你關閉服務時，未來的運行率會怎樣？你 - 我們是否應該認為 Intra Asia 可能會遵循根據季節性調整的第一季度趨勢，當然，但你會看到該服務的更多影響會通過嗎？然後是第二個，如果我真的可以問你剛剛投入使用的新造船，這些船現在的利用率是多少？

I'm sorry, I didn't quite get the second question, Sathish. Could you repeat the second one?

抱歉，我不太明白第二個問題，Sathish。你能重複第二個嗎？

The newbuild 15,000 TEU vessels that you have deployed on the trans-Pacific trade lane. Just trying to get a sense what is the utilization of those ships are?

您部署在跨太平洋貿易航線上的新建 15,000 TEU 船隻。只是想了解一下這些船隻的用途是什麼？

Right. So maybe I'll start with this one. On the U.S. East Coast and this is where indeed those vessels are being deployed, we are benefiting from very strong utilization. So the volume is there. And when I was referring again to the drop in volume on the trans-Pacific, I did mention that it was more driven by volume reduction on the West Coast than on the U.S. East Coast. So today, the utilization, we are very happy with the utilization on the Asia - U.S. East Coast, we're not happy with the rates. But from a volume perspective, we are quite fine.

正確的。所以也許我會從這個開始。在美國東海岸，這確實是部署這些船隻的地方，我們受益於非常高的利用率。所以音量就在那裡。當我再次提到跨太平洋航線的貨運量下降時，我確實提到西海岸的貨運量下降比美國東海岸的貨運量下降更多。所以今天，我們對亞洲 - 美國東海岸的利用率非常滿意，我們對利率不滿意。但從數量的角度來看，我們還不錯。

That is not to mention the recent disruption, obviously, that I'm sure you are aware of with respect to the limitation on the Panama Canal, where we need to be quite inventive in ensuring that we are carrying a light cargo and so that the vessels can go through the canal due to the current draft limitation. But by and large, today, we -- of trades, the volumes are there but the rates are still yet to improve, which also, I think linked to your first question. We've seen on some -- on quite a few of our trade lanes today as we are delivering loss-making results for the first quarter. Obviously, it means that in most of the trade lanes where we currently operate, we generate revenue that do not allow for us to absorb the cost.

更不用說最近的中斷了，很明顯，我相信你知道關於巴拿馬運河的限制，我們需要非常有創意地確保我們運載的是輕型貨物，這樣由於目前的吃水限制，船隻可以通過運河。但總的來說，今天，我們——在交易中，交易量已經存在，但利率仍有待提高，我認為這也與你的第一個問題有關。我們已經看到了一些 - 今天在我們的相當多的貿易通道上，因為我們在第一季度提供了虧損的結果。顯然，這意味著在我們目前經營的大部分貿易通道中，我們產生的收入不允許我們吸收成本。

So we think that in most of the current East-West trade lanes today, the rates -- at least the spot rates and this is what we are talking about here, the spot rates, is not sustainable in the longer term. And as we operate in terms of vessels, very efficient vessels, we are not behind in terms of cost structure. So we think that most of the industry might end up being loss-making in some of those trade lanes, which should -- when the demand starts to come back and that this is what we based our assumptions for the remainder of the year. But at some point, the destocking effect that we've experienced over the past few quarters will come to an end, which should allow for the demand to slightly come back. And that should be a good trigger for the rates to also follow through.

因此，我們認為，在當今大多數當前的東西方貿易通道中，利率——至少是即期利率，這就是我們在這裡談論的，即期利率，從長期來看是不可持續的。由於我們在船舶方面運營，非常高效的船舶，我們在成本結構方面並不落後。因此，我們認為，大多數行業最終可能會在其中一些貿易通道中虧損，這應該——當需求開始回升時，這就是我們對今年剩餘時間的假設。但在某個時候，我們在過去幾個季度經歷的去庫存效應將會結束，這應該會讓需求略有回升。這應該是利率也隨之而來的良好觸發因素。

The next question is from the line of Sam Bland from JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Sam Bland。

I've got, I think 3, please. The first one is on contracts. I think previously, sort of towards the end of last year, maybe in the beginning of this year, you sort of rebased your sort of contract rates down to spot. Does that mean that there isn't a sort of quarter-on-quarter profit headwind in Q2 from the new trans-Pacific contracts being lower again, i.e., your rates have already come down to market levels? The second question is where -- you have contracts on the trans-Pacific. Are any of those being signed at what you think are loss-making EBIT levels? Or if that was the choice, would you just put more volume on to spot for the time being? And the third question is, car carriers. You mentioned, I think you had about 14 of those. I just looked at the rate for car carriers. It looks like it's been very strong in recent months. Can you just talk generally about, are those car carriers, very profitable for ZIM at the moment and how much of a contributor are they to profitability?

我有，我想 3，拜託。第一個是合同。我認為以前，大約在去年年底，也許在今年年初，你將你的合同利率重新調整為即期利率。這是否意味著新的跨太平洋合同再次降低，即您的費率已經降至市場水平，第二季度不會出現某種季度利潤逆風？第二個問題是——你在跨太平洋地區有合同。是否有任何人以您認為虧損的息稅前利潤水平簽約？或者，如果那是選擇，您會暫時將更多的音量放在現場嗎？第三個問題是汽車承運人。你提到過，我想你有大約 14 個。我剛剛看了汽車運輸公司的費率。看起來最近幾個月非常強勁。你能不能籠統地談談，這些汽車運輸公司目前對 ZIM 來說非常有利可圖嗎？它們對盈利能力的貢獻有多大？

Thank you, Sam. So on your first question, you are right in saying that or reemphasizing that we do not, today, benefit from any tailwind, from rates that we made, have secured last year on the trans-Pacific trade lane. So we are largely already today, fully exposed to the spot market. So we do not -- or we should not expect additional headwind in the quarters to come, as we no longer have or already no longer had any tailwind to support our revenue in the first quarter of 2023.

謝謝你，山姆。所以關於你的第一個問題，你說得對，或者再次強調我們今天沒有從我們去年在跨太平洋貿易通道上獲得的任何順風，從我們制定的利率中受益。所以我們今天基本上已經完全暴露在現貨市場上。因此，我們不會 - 或者我們不應該期望這些季度會出現額外的逆風，因為我們不再有或已經沒有任何順風來支持我們在 2023 年第一季度的收入。

Then to the next question, where are we? Or do we end up or would we -- do we consider securing and locking rates at loss-making level? This is not the intention of the company. So we are not doing that and this is also maybe what explains why we are not yet at this time of the year fully finalized when it comes to agreeing with our customers, the volume commitment and the rate commitment for the next 12 months, precisely because some of our customers have been pushing for rates reduction or our expectation is below the minimum level where we are willing to go. And that explains why it takes a little bit longer. So I think by and large, the answer to your second question is, we do not intend to lock ourselves on revenue that would mean loss-making cargo for us.

那麼下一個問題，我們在哪裡？或者我們最終還是會 - 我們是否考慮將利率鎖定在虧損水平？這不是公司的意圖。所以我們沒有這樣做，這也許也解釋了為什麼我們在每年的這個時候還沒有完全敲定與客戶達成一致，未來 12 個月的數量承諾和費率承諾，正是因為我們的一些客戶一直在推動降低利率，或者我們的預期低於我們願意達到的最低水平。這就解釋了為什麼需要更長的時間。所以我認為總的來說，你的第二個問題的答案是，我們不打算將自己鎖定在對我們來說意味著虧損貨物的收入上。

And third, your question with respect to our car carrier activity, it is, making sure that we've grown this activity like never before, moving from being a single vessel operator not so long ago, to 14 vessels and soon to 16 car carriers that we will end up operating. This is a nice profitable business for us to continue to grow and to continue to explore additional growth opportunities. We do not -- as you know, we do not display a specific information in terms of earnings generation on this specific activity. But you can see when you check our other revenue line in our P&L, this is basically capturing 2 sources of income, the one that we generate out of our car carrier activity and the one that we generate out of the detention and demurrage.

第三，關於我們的汽車運輸船活動的問題是，確保我們以前所未有的方式發展這項活動，從不久前的單一船舶運營商發展到 14 艘船，很快又發展到 16 艘汽車運輸船我們將最終運營。這是一項有利可圖的業務，我們可以繼續發展並繼續探索更多的增長機會。我們不會 - 如您所知，我們不會顯示有關此特定活動的創收方面的特定信息。但是你可以看到，當你檢查我們損益表中的其他收入線時，這基本上包含了兩種收入來源，一種是我們從汽車運輸活動中產生的，一種是我們從滯留費和滯期費中產生的。

Detention and demurrage is going down significantly compared to last year, pretty much we are halving the revenue that we expect to generate in 2023 versus the one we generated a year ago on that front. And this is compensated to a significant extent by the growth in earnings that we do generate -- in revenue that we do generate from our growing car carrier business.

與去年相比，滯留費和滯期費顯著下降，與一年前在這方面產生的收入相比，我們幾乎將 2023 年產生的收入減半。我們確實產生的收入增長在很大程度上補償了這一點——我們從不斷增長的汽車運輸業務中產生的收入。

The next question is from the line of Muneeba Kayani from Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Muneeba Kayani。

I just wanted to revisit kind of what are you seeing in terms of demand right now in the market? Has that kind of -- any signs of stabilization yet? Or is that just a 2H expectation? So if you could give some more color on that. Secondly, if you could just talk about your charter costs this year and next year based on the newbuild vessels coming in and the older charters going out, how do we think about that from a modeling perspective? Thirdly, ILWU, any color on what's the situation there? It's been almost a year and no agreement. And how does that kind of factor into your planning at this point?

我只是想重新審視一下您目前在市場需求方面看到了什麼？有那種 - 任何穩定的跡象嗎？或者這只是一個 2H 的期望？所以，如果你能給它更多的顏色。其次，如果你可以根據新造船的進入和舊租船的離開來談談今年和明年的租船成本，我們如何從建模的角度來考慮這個問題？第三，ILWU，那裡的情況如何？已經快一年了，沒有達成協議。在這一點上，這種因素如何影響您的計劃？

Thank you, Muneeba. Maybe I'll start with the last one. As we mentioned earlier on, we exited the trade between Asia to L.A. So we are no longer impacted or will no longer be impacted for as long as we are not resuming our activity on this trade lane with the current situation in the terminal. What we can say is that when looking at the market environment on those trades, the uncertainties may be contributing to some of our shippers -- some of the shippers are still pushing cargo to the East Coast as opposed to coming back to L.A. And that may be the positive effect that is impacting us on the trades where we continue to operate, obviously on the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf.

謝謝你，穆尼巴。也許我將從最後一個開始。正如我們之前提到的，我們退出了亞洲與洛杉磯之間的貿易。因此，只要我們不根據碼頭的當前情況恢復這條貿易通道上的活動，我們就不再受到或將不再受到影響。我們可以說的是，在審視這些交易的市場環境時，不確定性可能會影響我們的一些托運人——一些托運人仍在將貨物推向東海岸，而不是返回洛杉磯。這可能是影響我們繼續經營的貿易的積極影響，顯然是在美國東海岸和海灣地區。

With respect to your second question, the charter cost or cost of sourcing capacity year-over-year or quarter-over-quarter, we clearly, I think, have reached a peak in terms of what is the cost for the company each quarter in sourcing our vessels, as we moved from being highly dependent on the chartering market and the somewhat shorter charter market, even though that developed to a more midterm charter market in '21, '22, when we had to secure chartering contracts at elevated rates compared to pre-COVID levels.

關於你的第二個問題，包租成本或採購能力的成本同比或季度環比，我認為，我們顯然已經達到了公司每個季度的成本的峰值採購我們的船隻，因為我們從高度依賴租船市場和稍微較短的租船市場轉變，即使在 21 年、22 年發展到更中期的租船市場，當時我們不得不以更高的價格獲得租船合同到 COVID 之前的水平。

But those contracts are coming and will continue to come to an end and they are being replaced by the long-term chartering agreements based on new building price that we secured early in 2021 and into the early days of 2022. So all those 14 new ships that are coming our way are coming at rates, which have nothing to do with the rates that prevailed on the chartering markets back in 2021 and '22.

但是這些合同即將到來並將繼續結束，它們將被基於我們在 2021 年初和 2022 年初獲得的新建築價格的長期租賃協議所取代。所有這 14 艘新船即將到來的是費率，這與 2021 年和 22 年租船市場上盛行的費率無關。

So as we let go the historical tonnage to make room and replace it with the new tonnage that we are taking on, we see and we expect to see the revenue per TEU -- sorry, the cost per TEU go down as a result. And not only because we see chartering rates at lower level but also because as a result of all this fleet deployment plan, we are upsizing in most of our trades, therefore, increasing the operated capacity and providing that we are able to capture that additional volume, we will reduce our cost of operation per TEU.

因此，當我們放棄歷史噸位以騰出空間並用我們正在接受的新噸位取而代之時，我們看到並且我們期望看到每個 TEU 的收入 - 抱歉，每個 TEU 的成本因此下降。不僅因為我們看到租船費率處於較低水平，而且因為所有這些船隊部署計劃的結果，我們正在擴大我們的大部分貿易，因此，增加運營能力並提供我們能夠捕獲額外的數量，我們將降低每 TEU 的運營成本。

And Muneeba, I'm very sorry. If you can please repeat your first question, which now I cannot remember.

Muneeba，我很抱歉。如果可以，請重複你的第一個問題，現在我不記得了。

Yes, sure. Just a bit more color on the current demand environment that you're seeing because some of the industry press has suggested, it remains quite weak at this point.

是的，當然。您所看到的當前需求環境只是多了一點顏色，因為一些行業媒體表示，目前它仍然很疲軟。

Yes. So clearly, I mean, the first quarter has been also especially on the trans-Pacific trade impacted by -- there is always the seasonality effect around the Chinese New Year, which was quite early in 2023 compared to prior years. So the demand has been, obviously also, to some extent, impacted by that. The demand is still weak. We are not suggesting here that the demand has rebounded very significantly as of now. So the first quarter was impacted by that. The second quarter or just the beginning of the second quarter was very much a continuation of the market environment that prevailed over the first quarter and the end of the first quarter.

是的。很明顯，我的意思是，第一季度也特別受到跨太平洋貿易的影響——中國農曆新年前後總是存在季節性影響，與往年相比，2023 年的時間還早。因此，需求顯然也在某種程度上受到了影響。需求仍然疲軟。我們在這裡並不是說需求已經非常明顯地反彈。所以第一季度受到了影響。第二季度或第二季度初在很大程度上延續了第一季度和第一季度末的市場環境。

So there's been a little bit of an uptick and we've seen the rates did increase on those trade lanes, especially in April, as the GRI was somewhat successful. So the rates have bottomed at some point. We now obviously expect or wait to see whether the trend is changing. And as we did mention earlier on, if the destocking effect is coming to an end, we shall assume that the second half of the year will see an increase in the demand and therefore, that will come in support to the freight rates. Still early days to say but that's our most likely scenario and the 1 assumption that we promote today.

所以出現了一點點上升，我們看到這些貿易通道的利率確實有所上升，尤其是在 4 月份，因為 GRI 取得了一定的成功。所以利率在某個時候已經觸底。我們現在顯然期待或等待趨勢是否正在改變。正如我們之前提到的，如果去庫存效應即將結束，我們將假設下半年需求將增加，因此這將對運費構成支撐。現在還為時過早，但這是我們最有可能出現的情況，也是我們今天提出的第一個假設。

The next question is from the line of Alexia Dogani from Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Alexia Dogani。

I also have three. Just firstly on your guidance and the Q1 performance, was it or was your expectation that Q1 would see EBIT loss? Secondly, in terms of the expectation for basically the improvement in demand and rates in the second half, the chart you showed, the 1.5% demand growth from here on. Will that be enough to close the oversupply spread in your view? And I guess what gives you confidence that 1.5% is the right number? And then my final question is on net debt. Obviously, net debt in the period was something around $380 million but you paid since then the $700 million plus of the dividend. So should we expect the underlying net debt of just over [$1 billion] to remain kind of broadly flat throughout the quarters? Or should we expect it to increase towards year-end?

我也有三個。首先關於您的指導和第一季度的表現，您是否期望第一季度會出現息稅前利潤損失？其次，就下半年需求和利率基本改善的預期而言，你顯示的圖表從這裡開始需求增長 1.5%。在您看來，這是否足以消除供應過剩的局面？我想是什麼讓您相信 1.5% 是正確的數字？然後我的最後一個問題是關於淨債務。顯然，該期間的淨債務約為 3.8 億美元，但您從那以後支付了 7 億美元以上的股息。那麼我們是否應該期望剛剛超過 [10 億美元] 的基礎淨債務在整個季度內保持大致持平？還是我們應該期望它在年底前增加？

Thank you, Alexia. So with respect to our first quarter results, we said that they are broadly in line with our original expectation. We did anticipate a difficult beginning of the year and Q1 and also we said Q2, largely driven by the fact that we do not get the tailwind from the contract rates that pushed us to be fully at the end of the day, exposed to the spot market. So no surprise from our end with respect to our first quarter results on that front.

謝謝你，亞歷克西婭。因此，關於我們第一季度的業績，我們說它們大致符合我們最初的預期。我們確實預計今年和第一季度會很艱難，我們也說過第二季度，這主要是因為我們沒有從合同利率中獲得順風，這促使我們在一天結束時完全暴露於現貨市場。因此，我們對這方面的第一季度業績毫不意外。

The -- with respect to your second question, the 1.5% or 1.4% expected year-over-year growth assumptions, it's not ours. We are relying here on the latest Alphaliner data, which are suggesting that the growth in demand for the year of 2023 when compared to the year of 2022, could be in the region of 1.4%. This is what we've tried to illustrate in the graph, since the first quarter was behind, it would mean that if those assumptions were to prove correct, that the volume should come back up a little bit in the second half of the year. So this is the base for our assumptions here, the data that we get from Alphaliner.

關於你的第二個問題，1.5% 或 1.4% 的預期同比增長假設，這不是我們的。我們在這裡依賴最新的 Alphaliner 數據，這些數據表明與 2022 年相比，2023 年的需求增長可能在 1.4% 左右。這就是我們試圖在圖表中說明的內容，因為第一季度落後，這意味著如果這些假設被證明是正確的，那麼下半年的銷量應該會有所回升。所以這是我們在這裡假設的基礎，我們從 Alphaliner 獲得的數據。

And to your third point, on the net debt, you are correct in your assessment that after having distributed or paid the dividend to our shareholders in April, our cash went down by obviously the same amount, [$760 million]. And as a result, net debt would go up by a similar number.

關於你的第三點，關於淨債務，你的評估是正確的，即在 4 月份向我們的股東分配或支付股息後，我們的現金明顯減少了相同的數額，[7.6 億美元]。結果，淨債務將增加類似的數字。

Now going forward, what is to be expected on that front. We will continue to take deliveries of the newbuild vessels that we've ordered back in -- a couple of -- in the past 2 years. And as those are for longer-term charter agreement, remembering that the Seaspan deal, for example, is a minimum charter period of 12 years. So the lease liability that we will take on balance sheet for each of the vessels as they come and be delivered to us, is more than the ones that we would be taking if the chart period was longer -- was shorter. So we continue to -- and we should continue to expect that our lease liability or our financial indebtness at the end day on our balance sheet will continue to grow as we take delivery of that capacity. And then the cash would be a function, obviously, of our EBITDA and EBIT generation going forward.

現在向前看，在這方面可以期待什麼。我們將繼續接收我們在過去 2 年中訂購的新造船——幾艘。由於這些是針對長期租船協議，請記住，例如，Seaspan 協議的最短租期為 12 年。因此，我們將在每艘船隻到達並交付給我們時在資產負債表上承擔的租賃負債，比圖表週期更長時我們將承擔的租賃負債要多——更短。因此，我們繼續 - 我們應該繼續期望我們的租賃負債或我們資產負債表上結束日的金融負債將隨著我們交付該能力而繼續增長。顯然，現金將成為我們未來 EBITDA 和 EBIT 一代的函數。

That's helpful. And can I just ask a follow-up on that, Xavier. In terms of net debt-to-EBITDA, what kind of level are you comfortable with kind of mindful of the lease liabilities coming online?

這很有幫助。 Xavier，我能問一下後續嗎？就淨債務與 EBITDA 比而言，您對即將上線的租賃負債感到滿意的水平是多少？

That's an interesting question and I'm not sure there is this cool answer to that. Because you -- we always need to look at us in the context as well of our overall competitive environment. And so we need to also look at that carefully. Back in the days, this industry is obviously very capital intensive. And back from the days the leverage of this industry was to be -- or expected to be above 2%, maybe between 2% and 3% was the leverage ratio that would be considered normal in our industry. I think we will go back to those levels at some point. The question is at which pace, I'm not sure. But clearly, going back to a net debt situation from a capital structure perspective. And therefore, walking away from a 0 leverage balance sheet is to be expected, clearly.

這是一個有趣的問題，我不確定是否有這個很酷的答案。因為你 - 我們總是需要在我們的整體競爭環境的背景下看待我們。因此，我們也需要仔細研究。過去，這個行業顯然是資本密集型行業。從這個行業的槓桿率是 - 或者預計將超過 2%，也許在 2% 到 3% 之間是我們行業中被認為正常的槓桿率。我認為我們會在某個時候回到那些水平。問題是速度，我不確定。但很明顯，從資本結構的角度來看，回到淨債務情況。因此，顯然可以預期擺脫零槓桿資產負債表。

So this concludes our Q&A session. I hand back to Mr. Glickman for closing comments.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我將結束評論交還給格利克曼先生。

Thank you. We have spoken at length about the current challenges driving rate pressure in the near to medium term but it's also important to highlight that ZIM is well positioned to weather this period of uncertainty. We took significant steps during the highly lucrative rate environment of 2021 and 2022 to adapt our vessel sourcing strategy to improve our cost structure with the addition of fuel-efficient, modern tonnage that also enable us to optimize our fleet composition.

謝謝。我們已經詳細討論了當前在中短期內推動利率壓力的挑戰，但同樣重要的是要強調 ZIM 能夠很好地度過這段不確定時期。在 2021 年和 2022 年的高利潤率環境中，我們採取了重大步驟來調整我們的船舶採購戰略，通過增加燃油效率高的現代噸位來改善我們的成本結構，這也使我們能夠優化我們的船隊構成。

Moving forward, we expect to continue to advance ZIM's position as innovative digital leader of seaborne transportation to maximize long-term shareholder value. Our customer relationships drive everything we do at ZIM. And we strive to maintain the highest service quality while preserving our personal touch. In addition, we continuously work to enhance front-end and back-end digital tools to improve customer experience and support profitability, invest in disruptive technologies within our ecosystem, while remain committed to advancing our ESG and sustainability values. These are ZIM priorities and I'm excited to lead our company through our next phase as the leading global liner. Thank you all.

展望未來，我們希望繼續提升 ZIM 作為海運運輸創新數字領導者的地位，以實現長期股東價值最大化。我們的客戶關係驅動著我們在 ZIM 所做的一切。我們努力保持最高的服務質量，同時保持我們的個人風格。此外，我們不斷努力增強前端和後端數字工具，以改善客戶體驗並支持盈利能力，在我們的生態系統中投資顛覆性技術，同時繼續致力於提升我們的 ESG 和可持續發展價值觀。這些是 ZIM 的優先事項，我很高興帶領我們的公司進入下一階段，成為全球領先的班輪公司。謝謝你們。

Ladies and gentlemen, the conference has now concluded and you may disconnect. Thank you very much for joining and have a pleasant day. Goodbye.

女士們，先生們，會議現已結束，你們可以斷開聯繫了。非常感謝您的加入，祝您度過愉快的一天。再見。