South Korea's HMM said it will chase high-yield cargo and new shipping routes to offset weak market conditions after reporting an 83 per cent fall in third-quarter net profit, reports London's S&P Global.

The carrier warned market conditions would remain weak in the fourth quarter due to the traditional year-end slack season and uncertainty over evolving US tariff policies. It said operations were being optimised by adjusting port calls and vessel deployment across trade lanes.

HMM added it was focusing on high-yield cargo segments such as reefer cargo, out-of-gauge shipments and other special cargo, while exploring new trade routes to improve profitability. No details were provided on the changes under consideration.

Net profit fell to US$208 million between July and September from $1.2 billion a year earlier, hit by significantly lower freight rates in what the company described as US$1.8 billion from $2.4 billion.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index averaged 1,481 points in the third quarter, down 52 per cent from 3,082 points last year. Despite this, HMM said it maintained an operating margin of 11 per cent, reflecting cost optimisation and efficient operations.

Ranked eighth-largest by capacity according to Sea-web, HMM said cumulative net profit for the first nine months fell 48 per cent to $1 billion from $1.9 billion last year. Revenue for the nine months slipped four per cent to $5.6 billion.