Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has credited five new VLCCs for helping narrow its losses in 2019.

The South Korean shipowner reported on Thursday that its net loss for last year shrunk to KRW 592bn ($501m) as compared to a net loss of KRW 790bn in 2018.

Revenue in 2019 rose 5.6% year-on year to KRW 5,513.1bn while operating profit climbed 45.6%