Evergreen Marine to give 10 months' salary as mid-year bonus

Taipei, March 14 (CNA) Taiwanese shipping giant Evergreen Marine Corp. plans to spend NT$1.918 billion (US$62.83 million) rewarding employees after last year's bumper profits, with each set to receive a mid-year bonus equivalent to 10 to 11 months of monthly salary, the company announced Tuesday.

Last year, Evergreen Marine's consolidated revenue was NT$627.284 billion, up 28.17 percent from a year earlier, while after-tax net profit was NT$334.201 billion, a year-on-year increase of 39.82 percent, according to the Taipei-based shipping company's 2022 financial report released Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the company's after-tax earnings per share (EPS) last year was NT$87.07. In 2022, both revenue and profit hit record highs, according to the report.

In terms of employee remuneration, in addition to handing out year-end bonuses equal to 50 months' salary on average for 2022, Evergreen Marine announced Tuesday when releasing the financial report that it will reward employees with mid-year bonuses totaling NT$1.918 billion.

Based on the company's nearly 3,100 employees and average monthly salary of NT$60,000, each employee is expected to receive a mid-year bonus equivalent to 10 to 11 months of monthly salary. That means each employee will receive bonuses worth about 60 months of salary for 2022, according to the company.

In the first two months of this year, the shipper's consolidated revenue was NT$44.922 billion, a year-on-year decline of 59.94 percent, mainly due to the Lunar New Year holiday and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on production lines which resulted in a decrease in cargo volume and pushed freight rates into a downward spiral, said Evergreen Marine President Hsieh Huey-chuan (謝惠全).

Looking to future market prospects, Hsieh said that the market could suffer in the off-season first quarter of this year, but is expected to improve in the second quarter.

However, any real comeback may have to wait until the second half of the year, Hsieh noted, adding that the key to market recovery depends on when the Russia-Ukraine war ends.