| | Top Cosco report: Everything shipshape |
| |
CreateTime:2008-04-24 Editor:liaoyan
Text Size:
 
|
| |
CHINA Cosco Holdings Co yesterday reported a massive growth on last year's earnings, backed by higher shipping rates and the growing dry-bulk services.
Its net income surged 152 percent to 19.1 billion yuan (US$2.73 billion), or 2.05 yuan per share, and revenue rose 47.29 percent to 93.9 billion yuan last year compared to 2006, Asia's largest shipping company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Profits of the dry-bulk service jumped 171.3 percent to 12.4 billion yuan in the period. The volume of its container shipping and related businesses amounted to 5.7 million 20-foot-containers (TEUs), rising 11.7 percent, and revenue from container shipping operations reached 45.8 billion yuan, growing 14.4 percent from a year earlier.
Cosco, listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, plans to expand its shipping fleet by ordering US$2.3 billion worth of new ships, including eight container ships and 17 dry-bulk cargo ships.
The company owned 144 container ships by the end of last year which were capable of handling 435,138 TEUs.
The container-shipping line agreed to buy 412 dry-bulk vessels for 34.6 billion yuan from its parent last year.
"The slowing growth of the global economy and the macroeconomic measures of China may exert a certain impact on shipping demand. However, it is expected that the overall dry-bulk shipping market supply and demand conditions will remain favorable," said Wei Jiafu, chairman of the company.
"China's logistics sector will be faced with good development opportunities this year and is predicted to grow more than 20 percent."
|