Joseph Bonney | Aug 24, 2011 5:11PM EDT
Cosco Pacific’s first half gross profit jumped 71 percent to $119.3 million as the Hong Kong-listed company posted sharply improved results from its terminal operations and container leasing, management and sales.
Revenue rose 25.2 percent to $278.7 million within the same period. Gross profit was boosted by a reversal of losses at the company’s Piraeus terminal and the reclassification of a Guangzhou terminal from a jointly controlled entity to a subsidiary.
Including an $84.7 million gain on the sale of Dalian Port Container and other non-recurring items, profit attributable to shareholders rose 24.8 percent to $237 million.
Profit at the company’s terminals unit more than doubled to $96.6 million. Volume rose 19.7 percent to 24.2 million 20-foot-equivalent units, and the company said it “expects a steady growth of container throughoput in the second half.”
Cosco Pacific is controlled by China Cosco Holdings and owns stakes in terminals in China, Hong Kong, Greece, Singapore, Egypt and Belgium.
Profit from container leasing, management and sales rose 17.1 percent to $56.2 million. The company’s Florens Container unit, the world’s third-largest container lessor, expanded its fleet size 7.3 percent and recorded an average utilization rate of 96.8 percent.
The company’s profit from its 21.8 stake in China International Marine Containers, the world’s largest container manufacturer, more than doubled to $91.3 million as demand and prices rose sharply.
-- Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephbonney.