COSCO Pacific first half profit rises

COSCO Pacific first half profit rises    Terminal operator COSCO Pacific said Wednesday its first half gross profit rose 71 percent to $119.3 million, helped by a turnaround in profitability from the company's new terminal in the Greek port of Piraeus.
   Revenue increased 25.2 percent to $278.7 million in the first half. Throughput at terminals in which COSCO Pacific maintains a stake rose 198.7 percent to 24.2 million TEUs. Gross profit from the terminals business rose 144.3 percent to $96.7 million.
   The company said the Piraeus terminal, as well as its terminal in the west Pearl River Delta port complex of Nansha, aided its improvement. COSCO Pacific also took on an additional 10 percent stake in its terminal at Yantian after APM Terminals sold its share.
   The company's container leasing, management, and sale business saw first half profit rise 17.1 percent to $56.2 million, while the container fleet size increased 7.3 percent to 1.7 million TEUs.
   The company did not release operating profit details.