Cosco Pacific container throughput up 10pc as interim profit triples
Ports in the Pearl, Yangtze river deltas hit by weaker consumption in Europe and the US
Cosco Pacific, the largest port operator on the mainland, said it was on track to increase throughput 10 per cent this year and acquire other firms, after its first-half net profit more than tripled.
The net profit of the port-to-container-leasing company rose 213 per cent to US$560.3 million. Underlying net profit dipped 3.6 per cent to US$143.8 million after stripping out a US$393.4 million one-off gain from the disposal of a container manufacturing unit.
Profit at its terminal business dropped 5 per cent year on year to US$92.8 million on an increase in tax and losses at its new port in Xiamen.
Container throughput grew 9.7 per cent in the first half from the same period last year.
The 40-day strike at Hong Kong Kwai Tsing Terminal in the first half dented the profit of the Cosco-HIT terminal, with its earnings falling 18.6 per cent to US$9.75 million. Consumption in Europe and the United States remained weak, affecting ports in the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta, the company said.
The outlook for ports in northern China was better, it added. In the first half, throughput in the Bohai Rim region grew 12.5 per cent year on year.