RCL saw its bottom line hit in the third quarter by rising costs and falling rates. The intra-Asian liner operator and owner saw net profits slide in the second quarter to THB 6.4bn ($180m). That is 13% down on the THB 7.3bn ($212m) logged in the previous quarter. It continues the drop in record profits since the start of the year.

Twinchok Tanthuwanit, who took over as president the Bangkok-listed company in June, said the result was “robust”. Net profits for the nine months of the year were 123% higher than for the same period last year at THB 22bn ($616m). However rising bunker costs and falling freight rates had conspired to hit the bottom line. That required RCL to make strategic adjustments and cost control, including service rearrangements.

RCL is the latest of a line of Asian carriers to report a downward trend in profits. Taiwanese operators Wan Hai Lines and Yang Ming Marine Transport have also reported lower profits. Wan Hai has become the first major carrier to report significantly lower profits on a year-on-year basis, according to Alphaliner. The intra-Asia specialist logged net income of TWD 22.4bn ($721m) for the third quarter, a decline of 37% on the same quarter a year ago. Yang Ming reported a net profit of TWD 49.7bn ($1.6bn) for the quarter, a smaller decline from a year ago of 2%.

Nearly all major carriers excluding some niche operators like US operator Matson have so far reported higher earnings year-on-year, even where profits fell over the previous quarter, said Alphaliner. Evergreen Marine reported a drop in net income after two and a half years of consecutive quarterly increases. Net profit was TWD 100.7bn ($3.2bn) in the third quarter, slightly down on TWD 102.3bn in the second quarter.