SINGAPORE (Oct 31): NOL Group has again sunk into the red in the third quarter ended Sept.

The container shipping and logistics company reported a net loss of US$23 million for the 3Q14 ended Sept, reversing from net profits of US$20 million a year ago.

Revenue came in at US$2.1 billion, unchanged from a year ago, the company reported in an SGX statement after market hours today.

NOL says its cost management and efficiency drive has delivered US$290 million of cost savings year to date. The savings were primarily achieved through a more efficient fleet and network optimisation. But these savings were largely offset by lower rates and lower volumes.

In 3Q, APL, NOL’s container shipping business, reported core EBIT of US$6 million, up from US$3 million in the same period last year.

APL registered lower revenue for the quarter at US$1.7 billion, a dip of 2% from a year ago due to freight rate pressures and lower cargo volumes.

APL says volumes were partly impacted by port congestion issues in Southern California, which has also caused a significant increase in operating costs.

NOL’s supply chain management business, APL Logistics, recorded revenue of US$399 million, an increase of 8% from a year ago.

Bloomberg yesterday reported that NOL was asking for bids for its APL Logistics unit in a sale that could fetch at least US$1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company has sent sale documents to potential buyers and asked them to submit first-round offers by the end of November, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private.

NOL announced in August it is considering options for APL Logistics, including a sale or initial public offering.

CJ Korea Express Co., the country’s biggest courier delivery company, said this month it is considering an acquisition of APL Logistics.

NOL closed 0.6% higher today at 83.5 cents.