China Merchants Port Holdings’ profit up 20.2 percent

   China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CMPort) reported a 20.2 percent increase in net profit in 2018 to HK$7.25 million ($923,774) and a 6 percent growth in overall container terminal throughput despite a decrease in three terminals.
   The company’s revenue increased by 16.9 percent year-over-year to HK$10.16 million ($1.3 million) in 2018. CFO Wen Ling said the net profit increased because of the disposal of Shenzhen Chiwan, which she said recognized a gain of HK$3.73 million ($475,594).
    CMPort’s container throughput totaled 109.06 million TEUs in 2018, which the company said outperformed global container throughput by 5.3 percent. 
   Two of its 11 mainland China ports recorded decreases last year, with Chu Long River Trade Terminal dropping 13.3 percent to 116,800 TEUs and West Shenzhen falling 4.4 percent to 1.07 million TEUs. CMPort blamed Chu Kong River Trade Terminal’s performance on China’s environmental policy, which decreases the import of foreign garbage in several terminals in the Pearl River Delta, and said the disposal of Shenzhen Chiwan and the renovation project in Haixing Port lowered the throughput in West Shenzhen.
   Still, CMPort’s mainland China throughput grew by 4.7 percent to 80.73 million TEUs.
   The company’s location in Djibouti also decreased throughout by 7.5 percent to 85,900 TEUs, which was caused by the depreciation of Ethiopian currency and political instability there, CMPort said. Its terminal in Djibouti was its lone overseas location to decrease in throughput as it reported an overseas throughput increase of 12.9 percent to 20.66 million TEUs.
   CMPort reported 18.9 percent of its total container throughput came from its overseas ports. It acquired 90 percent interest in TCP in Brazil in February 2018 and acquired 50 percent equity interest in Australia’s Port of Newcastle in June.
   Its Hong Kong and Taiwan locations increased throughput by 2.5 percent to 7.67 million TEUs.
   The company expects global trade growth to slow down in general due to adjustments of trade and investment policies, including U.S.-China trade frictions. But there is room for growth in the trade and seaborne freight volume in regions in Southeast and South Asia and East Africa, it said.
   “Benefited from its overseas network layout, it is expected that the group’s ports operation will sustain a steady growth in 2019, mainly driven by the rapid growth of new projects and overseas projects,” the company said.