Financial highlights brief report for third quarter fiscal year 2024. A, financial highlights for third quarter fiscal year 2024. A1, financial results for third quarter fiscal year 2024. For the fiscal 2024 third quarter results, operating revenues were JPY 804.9 billion, operating income was JPY 92.2 billion, and ordinary income was JPY 288.8 billion, while net income attributable to owners of parent was JPY 284.7 billion. The average exchange rate over the nine-month period is 152.27 yen. Both revenues and profits increased compared to the same period last year. Dry bulk and car carrier business were the top contributors to operating income. Ordinary income and net income attributable to owners of parent increased significantly due to stable short-term market conditions for container ship business, which is operated by Ocean Network Express, ONE.
The key financial indicators show that equity capital was JPY 1 trillion 707.3 billion, interest-bearing liability was JPY 342.9 billion, debt-to-equity ratio was 20%, and equity ratio was 75%. We believe that our financial position remains sound. A2, financial results for third quarter fiscal year 2024 by segment. Looking at the first three quarters, the dry bulk segment reported ordinary income of JPY 16.2 billion. In the same period, ordinary income was JPY 6.3 billion for energy resource transport and JPY 269.7 billion for product logistics. As this includes JPY 193.8 billion from container ship business, ordinary income for K Line's own product logistics businesses, excluding container ship business, was JPY 75.9 billion. K Line's total ordinary income was JPY 288.8 billion. Each segment saw an increase in profits compared to the same period last year.
I will explain the reasons for the main changes in each business later on, along with the full-year performance forecast. Ordinary income for K Line's own businesses was JPY 95 billion, calculated by deducting the JPY 193.8 billion figure for container ship business from the total figure of JPY 288.8 billion. This represents an increase of more than JPY 30 billion compared to the same period last year. As stated in the footnote, K Line's performance figures tend to fluctuate depending on exchange rate trends. In the third quarter of fiscal 2024, ordinary income was JPY 101.5 billion. Meanwhile, the yen depreciated against the U.S. dollar, with the exchange rate moving by 15 yen from 143 at the end of September to 158 at the end of December. The weaker yen resulted in a foreign exchange gain of JPY 14.9 billion in the third quarter.
B, forecasts and initiatives for fiscal year 2024. B1, forecasts for fiscal year 2024 and key factors. Our full-year performance forecast for fiscal 2024 is for operating revenues of JPY 1 trillion 50 billion, operating income of JPY 106 billion, and ordinary income of JPY 300 billion. Net income attributable to owners of parent is expected to be JPY 295 billion. The average exchange rate during the period is 152.39 JPY, and the bunker price is $608 per metric ton. The forecasted rate for the fiscal year end, March 31st, is 150 JPY. Comparing our performance with the same period last year, both revenues and profits have increased.
Compared to the full-year performance forecast announced with the interim financial results on November 5th, operating revenues are up JPY 20 billion, ordinary income is up JPY 60 billion, and net income attributable to owners of parent is up JPY 60 billion. Regarding the situations for each segment, the basic structure remains unchanged from the third quarter results, with operating income being driven by dry bulk and car carrier businesses, and ordinary income being driven largely by container ship business. Regarding the forecast assumptions and the impact of fluctuations, for every one yen change in the exchange rate, we expect an impact of plus or minus JPY one billion on our figures. For example, a one yen depreciation will result in a JPY one billion improvement in ordinary income, while a one yen appreciation of the yen will result in a JPY one billion drop in ordinary income.
Regarding shareholder return for this fiscal year 2024, the dividend will be JPY 100 per share, which remains unchanged from the figure announced with our interim financial results. Meanwhile, we are in the process of implementing a share buyback up to a maximum of 36 million shares, or JPY 90 billion. As announced with the interim financial results, we will proceed with the share buyback process before the end of February until we reach either the maximum purchase amount or the maximum number of shares. I will cover our shareholder return policy for the entire period of the medium-term management plan a little later. B2, forecasts for fiscal year 2024 by segment. Turning to the full-year forecast for fiscal 2024 by segment, ordinary income is expected to be JPY 14.5 billion for dry bulk, JPY 6.5 billion for energy resource transport, and JPY 285 billion for product logistics.
The container ship business share of the product logistics figure is JPY 197 billion. The remaining JPY 88 billion represents ordinary income from K Line's own product logistics businesses other than container ship. We are forecasting total ordinary income of JPY 300 billion. Compared to the same period last year, there was a one-time loss for energy resource transport, resulting in a negative result. Otherwise, dry bulk, product logistics, and container ship business are all showing improvements compared to the same period last year. Also, compared to the forecast announced with the interim financial results on November 5th, there have been improvements in all segments. Dry bulk and energy resource transport each improved by JPY 1.5 billion.
Product logistics saw an improvement of JPY 57.5 billion, which breaks down to JPY 52 billion for container ship business and JPY 5.5 billion for K Line's own product logistics businesses other than container ship. Since there have been improvements compared to both the same period last year and the previous forecast announcement, we believe that we are making steady progress. As for the reasons for the main changes in each segment, conditions in the dry bulk market have been down slightly in the current fourth quarter, and this is reflected in the current earnings plan. As for energy resource transport, our business operations are basically based on long-term stable contracts. Accordingly, we expect the situation to remain stable in the fourth quarter and beyond. Within the product logistics segment, car carrier business has seen a decrease in cargo volume.
This is primarily due to reduced vessel deployment efficiency caused by port congestion, leading to longer port stays for vessels in Australia and other regions. However, there have been no major changes in fundamentals for this segment. We will continue to strive for efficient vessel deployment to achieve stable earnings. The key factors affecting container ship business will be the market conditions for short-term freight rates, seasonal factors such as cargo movement trends after the Lunar New Year, and the impact of Alliance restructuring starting in February this year. ONE will continue its efforts for efficient operations and vessel deployment that meets demand. Looking at performance for the second half of the fiscal year, there is a huge difference in the third and fourth quarter earnings.
While ordinary income was JPY 101.5 billion in the third quarter, it is expected to drop to JPY 11.2 billion in the fourth quarter, resulting in a decrease of JPY 90 billion. One factor behind this is a very substantial deterioration in the earnings forecast for container ship business between those two quarters. Ordinary income for container ship business, which was JPY 57.4 billion in the third quarter, is expected to be JPY 3.2 billion in the fourth quarter, a deterioration of approximately JPY 54 billion. For the overall JPY 90 billion decrease, approximately 60%, or JPY 54 billion, is due to the outlook for container ship business. The remaining 40% was mostly due to the exchange rate impact. The dollar-yen exchange rate at the end of the second quarter, September 30th, was 143 yen, a relatively strong position for the yen recently.
At the end of the third quarter, December 31st, however, the rate climbed 15 yen to 158 yen, indicating a weaker Japanese currency. The third quarter financial results include the foreign exchange valuation gains on foreign currency-denominated receivables and payables caused by the 15 yen depreciation of the yen. On the other hand, our assumed exchange rate at the end of the fourth quarter, March 31st, 2025, is 150 yen. Thus, we expect the yen to appreciate by 8 yen from the 158 yen level at the end of the third quarter, December 31st. This 8 yen appreciation will exert downward pressure on our results. Due to exchange rate trends, the results moved upward in the third quarter, but are projected to move downward in the fourth quarter.
The fluctuations in figures, moving both upward and downward with a widening gap, are a major reason for the difference between the third and fourth quarters. Since the exchange rate fluctuations result in foreign exchange valuation gains and losses on foreign currency-denominated assets, they do not affect cash flow. Therefore, we are seeing a temporary impact on our results due to exchange rate fluctuations. Although container ship business performance can be viewed in certain ways, apart from that, we believe that most of the decline can be attributed to temporary factors. Looking at performance for K Line's own businesses, for the current fiscal year 2024, we are expecting ordinary income of JPY 300 billion for the company as a whole. Of this amount, container ship business is expected to earn JPY 197 billion, and the remaining JPY 103 billion will be attributed to K Line's own businesses.
We are working toward our goal of achieving an ordinary income of 90 billion JPY in the final year of our medium-term management plan, fiscal 2026, and further increasing our ordinary income to 110 billion JPY by fiscal 2030. The third and fourth quarters of this fiscal year have seen fluctuations in exchange rates and seasonal factors. However, looking at the bigger picture, we believe that K Line's own businesses will be able to continue to earn a solid income in line with our goals even after fiscal 2025. Furthermore, we believe the key influence on company-wide performance will be the future developments affecting container ship business. C, status and progress of the medium-term management plan. C1, capital policy. Capital policy progress and corporate value improvement.
With regard to earning power enhancement in our investment plan, we are currently conducting various reviews and investigations as we put together our earnings plan for fiscal 2025 and beyond. Therefore, we have not made any major changes to the figures at this time. Regarding overall operating cash flow, we are currently carefully assessing how it will likely develop in 2025 and 2026, taking into account the better-than-expected performance this fiscal year. Our current investment plan, as announced, is JPY 740 billion. However, we are still examining what will likely happen within the medium-term management plan period, including the direction of vessel prices, customer trends, and the timing of customer needs and projects. However, our basic investment policy remains unchanged. We will continue to make the investments necessary for the continued growth of the company, even if the timing needs to be slightly delayed.
Therefore, we intend to continue making well-planned investments. We are conducting in-depth internal discussions on our optimal capital structure, including the capital requirements for container ship business, namely ONE. Our shareholder return policy was previously set at JPY 730 billion or more during the medium-term management plan period. Now, however, we have increased the figure by JPY 20 billion to JPY 750 billion or more. Specifically, for fiscal 2025 and 2026, dividends have been increased from JPY 85 per share to JPY 100 per share. Our approach to shareholder returns has not changed. We will make necessary investments while considering the optimal capital structure and maintain financial soundness. For the portion exceeding the appropriate capital, we will actively deliver shareholder returns based on cash flow. During various reviews of our situation, we determined that it is entirely feasible to increase shareholder returns by approximately JPY 20 billion.
In addition, we are currently in a share buyback process. We have adopted a policy of distributing shareholder returns in a way that takes into consideration the priorities of diverse shareholders. They include both those who are looking for capital gains and those seeking income gains. Therefore, we have decided to plan a reliable annual dividend of JPY 100 per share during the medium-term management plan period. We will continue to consider additional shareholder returns, taking cash flow into account. We continuously evaluate the timing, method, and scale of shareholder returns to improve corporate value most, and any decisions that are made will be shared in a timely manner. C3, changes in the business environment. As always, when it comes to risks facing the shipping industry, economic decoupling, including geopolitical factors, global economic trends, and energy policy developments have a huge impact. C4, shipping industry environment.
We have prepared detailed materials focusing on two current issues and major points of concern that we are closely monitoring: the change of U.S. administration and the Middle East situation. I will not go into detail on these two issues, but in broad terms, there are three significant points of concern regarding the change of U.S. administration. These are U.S. energy policies, trade policies such as tariffs, and how the U.S. economy could develop depending on the actions of the new administration. Regarding energy policies, many expect the U.S. to increase production of fossil fuels, such as LNG, thereby increasing exports and business opportunities for K Line. On the other hand, for car carrier business, we need to keep a close eye on things like EV sales trends and what types of cars could see stronger sales.
In terms of trade policies, we will be keeping a close eye on how supply chains might change, as this could have a particularly large impact on container ship business and car carrier business. In terms of the U.S. economy, we believe that container ship business and car carrier business will be the most affected by any changes in consumer spending there. On the other hand, considering energy resource transport, if inflation were to increase further, projects could be delayed, so we intend to closely monitor this situation. However, as always, K Line will continue to take the lead in environmental response while leveraging its strengths. We will also continue to grow and develop our business and improve our corporate value by working with customers to reduce emissions and achieve decarbonization.
Although it is always difficult to predict the future, with this approach firmly in place, we intend to continue monitoring each situation closely and take any measures necessary. Regarding the Middle East situation, diplomatic negotiations between Israel and Hamas are currently underway. The shipping industry is watching closely to see when the Suez Canal can resume normal operations and under what conditions vessels will be able to use this route again. Until the safety of our ships, our crews, and the cargo entrusted to us by customers can be fully guaranteed, we will not consider sending our vessels back to the Suez. Therefore, we will continue using the Cape of Good Hope route until we can be fully confident in the safety of the Suez, based on a comprehensive assessment of all relevant circumstances.
Since it is difficult to determine the exact criteria for making such a decision at this point, we intend to carry out a thorough and careful assessment while taking a comprehensive look at the situation.