COSCO Pacific sees 9% profit rise in Q3

COSCO Pacific sees 9% profit rise in Q3    The container terminal operator COSCO Pacific said Friday its third quarter operating profit grew 9.5 percent, to $29.8 million, on a revenue increase of 28.8 percent, to $107 million.
   For the year, COSCO Pacific's operating profits have risen 0.1 percent, to $84.9 million on a revenue increase of 36.1 percent, to $330.1 million.
   The company, which has stakes in a host of terminals across China and a handful of foreign terminals, saw container throughput rise 22.9 percent in the third quarter, to 13.3 million TEUs, and 20.2 percent for the year, to 35.7 million TEUs.
   COSCO Pacific also maintains a container leasing company, which it said has seen increased demand this year due to a global shortage of ocean containers. The company said it has had higher than 99 percent utilization rates for its fleet of 1.6 million containers (of which sister company COSCO Container Lines uses about one-fourth). The company's container fleet grew 2.6 percent from September 2009.
   The COSCO Group also holds a 21.2 percent stake in China International Marine Containers, the world's largest container manufacturer.