China Merchants Holdings says H1 net profit up 29 per cent to HK$2.78 billion

While China's ports continue to face growth pressure, the country's largest port operator is reaping the rewards of years of investments in overseas projects.

China Merchants Holdings (International) (CMHI) on Monday reported first-half net profit jumped 29 per cent to HK$2.78 billion year on year. Revenue climbed 4 per cent to HK$4.08 billion.

By the end of June, container throughput handled had risen 5.3 per cent to 41.35 million 20-foot equivalent units (teu), nearly a fifth of which was from overseas ports.

"We expect the throughput at mainland ports to see only single-digit growth in the next few years amid the economic slowdown," said CMHI chairman Li Jianhong. "For us, overseas projects will be more and more weighted and become our key growth engine."

As the company's first overseas greenfield investment, Colombo International Container Terminals in Sri Lanka handled 670,000 teu in the first half, a 140 per cent jump year on year. "This is the first time the Sri Lanka project contributed to profit," said CMHI executive director Hu Jianhua.

Hu said he expects the Sri Lanka project to handle 1.4 million to 1.5 million teu by the end of 2015 and reach full capacity of 2.4 million teu in two years. The entire overseas sector registered 20 per cent throughput volume growth for the first six months.