The world's biggest oil tanker shipping group Frontline Ltd. reported a sharp decline of 66 per cent in its net income for the fourth quarter, mainly due to significant decrease in revenues and the problem of excess ship capacity faced by the entire tanker market.

Net income attributable to shareholders declined to $3.92 million from $52.44 million in the comparable period of the last fiscal year. For the fiscal year 2009 net income attributable to shareholders declined to $102.7 million from $698.77 million in the year-ago period.

Net income from operating activities declined to $38.86 million from $115.34 million in the corresponding period in previous financial year.

According to the officials of the company, "A faster global recovery and the projected increase in world oil consumption are likely to lead to increased transportation needs and are positive for the demand in the tanker industry."

For fiscal year 2010, the company forecasted improvement in results, but cautioned that the results would depend on the direction of the market.