Hutchison’s port first half profits up 11% thanks to PSA sale

Hutchison’s port first half profits up 11% thanks to PSA sale World’s largest port operator Hong Kong’s Hutchison Port Holdings posted HK$5.2 billion ($671 million) in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the first half 2006, up 10.9 percent compared to HK$4.7 billion in the same period last year, parent company Hutchison Whampoa reported Thursday.
   The port operator gained HK24.4 billion ($3.1 billion) from its 20 percent shareholding sale to its Singapore rival PSA International in April.
   After six months, Hutchison Port’s global throughput increased 12 percent to 27.5 million TEUs. It has interests in 43 ports comprising 251 berths worldwide.
   The major contributors to the volume growth in the first half were Yantian port (up 18 percent); Kelang Multi Terminal in Malaysia (up 24 percent); and Panama ports container terminals (up 39 percent); Freeport Container Port in the Bahamas (up 26 percent) and Internacional Contenedores Asociados de Veracruz in Mexico (up 32 percent). These increases offset declines at terminals in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and its Europe Container Terminals in Rotterdam, Hutchison Whampoa said.
   The ports unit posted revenue of HK15.4 billion ($2 billion), up 6.7 percent over the first half 2005, representing 15 percent of Hutchison Whampoa’s consolidated revenue for its established businesses, which reached HK$100.9 billion ($13 billion). The ports unit contributed 28 percent of the conglomerate’s HK$18.9 billion ($2.4 billion) total EBIT.
   “While acknowledging that the first half results benefited from the exceptional gain from the strategic ports transaction, I am confident the group will continue to perform well in the second half of the year,” said Li Ka-shing, Hutchison Whampoa’s chairman.