Yang Ming Chiefs Deny Extra Bonus Amid Doubled Q1 Profits

Yang Ming has denied media reports that its chairman and GM, Cheng Cheng-mount and Patrick Tu, paid themselves an ex-gratia bonus after the Taiwanese operator’s earnings began rebounding from the final quarter of 2023.

The statement came a day before Yang Ming released its Q1 24 results today. As freight rates rocketed amid the Red Sea crisis, the Taiwanese mainline operator’s revenue was up 14% from Q1 23, to $1.39bn, while net profit more than doubled, to $298.42m.

In response to media reports that Messrs Cheng and Tu each received nearly $62,000 as one-off “special contribution bonuses”, Yang Ming said that bonuses were distributed in accordance with company guidelines.

As Yang Ming is partially owned by the Taiwan state, the executives are subject to specific salary scales, and their remuneration in the past two years had been lower than other senior executives at the firm.

Yang Ming said: “Bonuses received by individuals are confidential, but are subject to remuneration reviews. The committee will discuss bonuses and salaries that are then approved by the board, not the chairman.”

But it added: ”If remuneration for chairmen and GMs assigned to government-linked companies is to be in line with market levels, the upper limits on salary scales must be lifted.

“Yang Ming’s profits indeed hit historical highs in 2021 and 2022. However, the chairman and GM were subject to the upper limits of salary standards. As such, the salaries they received in the past two years were lower than that of senior executives within the company, and there is no issue of self-enrichment.”

On liner performance this year, the management expressed optimism that 2024 could be another good year.

It said: “The US, India and other emerging markets are showing strong signs of recovery. With fiscal stimulus measures, China’s economic growth is expected to surpass expectations, and inflation is easing in most economies. Nonetheless, potential geopolitical conflicts escalating could disrupt energy and financial markets, impacting the global economy significantly.

“Uncertainties still linger over the maritime industry, with geopolitical factors causing delays in turnaround times and port congestion. Furthermore, the Panama Canal transit restrictions continue, despite an improvement in water levels, conditions expected to persist until 2025, impacting vessel supply and stable service.”

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