Taipei, March 15 (CNA) Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., a leading Taiwanese container cargo shipper, will give its employees an average mid-year bonus of about NT$1.34 million (US$43,934) after posting a net profit of more than NT$180 billion in 2022.
Most Taiwanese companies, including in the shipping industry, normally gave smaller mid-year bonuses or red envelopes, but Taiwan’s shippers felt compelled to reward their employees with big mid-year bonuses this year because of their strong profitability in 2022.
In a recent statement, Yang Ming Marine said the bonuses were being issued based on the company’s charter, which requires it to pay no less than 1 percent of its profits in mid-year bonuses to employees.
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In 2022, Yang Ming Marine posted a record net profit of NT$180.6 billion, up 9.32 percent from a year earlier, while its consolidated sales also hit a fresh high of NT$375.9 billion, up 12.6 percent from a year earlier.
Based on the NT$50,000 monthly salary averaged by Yang Ming Marine employees, the mid-year bonuses will equal 26-27 months of salary and total NT$2.329 billion.
Its shareholders will also benefit. The shipper had earnings per share of NT$51.71 in 2022, up from NT$48.28 in 2021, and Yang Ming Marine proposed last week to distribute a cash dividend of NT$20 per share, translating to a dividend payout ratio of 38.68 percent.
On Tuesday, rival Evergreen Marine Corp., the largest shipping firm in Taiwan, announced that it will give its employees NT$1.918 billion in mid-year bonuses.
Evergreen Marine’s planned bonuses were roughly equal to 10-11 months of the average monthly salary of NT$60,000 received by its 3,100 employees after the company posted a record high net profit of NT$334.20 billion in 2022, up 39.82 percent from a year earlier.
With EPS of NT$87.07 in 2022, the shipper announced Tuesday that it was proposing a cash dividend of NT$70 per share, equal to a payout ratio of about 80.4 percent.
Wan Hai Lines, which did not perform as well in 2022 as its two local rivals, has planned to give its employees a total of NT$744 million in mid-year bonuses, but it did not provide employee numbers, making it hard to gauge the size of the bonus relative to average pay.
The company’s net profit in 2022 fell 9.9 percent to NT$93.07 billion after Wan Hai reported a net loss in the fourth quarter. It has proposed paying a cash dividend of NT$5 per share out of its earnings per share of NT$33.17, a 15.07 percent payout ratio.
Wan Hai’s fourth quarter loss and falling international container shipping rates were signs that the gravy train of the past two years, when containers were in short supply and freight rates soared, has come to an end.
Evergreen Marine President Hsieh Huey-chuan (謝惠全) said on Tuesday that the global shipping industry could suffer in the first quarter of 2023 but then begin to rebound in the second quarter.
Any real comeback, however, could have to wait until the second half of the year, with the key to the recovery hinging on when the Russia-Ukraine war ends, Hsieh said.
Source: Focus Taiwan
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