COSCO Ports sees profits sink in 2016

The port terminal operator arm of the recently merged China COSCO Shipping saw earnings tumble 42.5 percent to $247 million for the full year in 2016 despite a 1.2 percent increase in revenues compared with the previous year.    COSCO SHIPPING Ports Ltd. reported profits attributable to equity shareholders of the company of $247 million in 2016, a 42.5 percent drop compared with the previous year, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   Formerly known as COSCO Pacific, COSCO SHIPPING Ports is the port terminal operator arm of China COSCO Shipping Corp. Ltd., the newly merged shipping conglomerate formed from state-run firms COSCO and China Shipping.
   COSCO Ports on March 18, 2016, closed its acquisition of all issued shares of China Shipping Ports Development Co., Ltd. (CSPD), making the former China Shipping terminal operating division a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.
   Diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations stood at $0.06 for the year compared with $0.09 per diluted share in 2015, despite revenues ticking up 1.2 percent percent year-over-year to $556.4 million.
   Throughput at COSCO Ports’ terminals grew 5.1 percent to 95.1 million TEUs during the 2016 calendar year.
   “The global economy grew slowly in 2016, hindering the recovery of the global shipping and port industries,” the company said in a statement. “According to the forecast made by Drewry in December 2016, global container throughput growth was 1.3 percent in 2016, largely unchanged from 2015 and indicative of the sluggish recovery.”
   Parent company COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd., said in a notice filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last month that it expects to record a net loss of 9.9 billion Chinese yuan renminbi (U.S. $1.4 billion) for the full year in 2016, in contrast to the 283 million yuan renminbi (RMB) profit it recorded in 2015.