COSCO Pacific Profit Beats Estimate

By Kyunghee Park

(Bloomberg) — Cosco Pacific Ltd., the container terminal operator of China’s biggest shipping company, reported a 30 percent increase in profit last year after the company wrote back a provision it made earlier.

Net income rose to $382 million from $293 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange Tuesday. That beat the $300 million average estimate of 12 analysts compiled by Bloomberg. Sales dropped 8.3 percent to $798.2 million, lagging behind an estimate for $825 million.

Cosco Pacific wrote back provisions of $79.2 million from the sale of its 21.8 percent stake in China International Marine Containers (Group) Co. in 2013, helping lift net income. China reorganized its two biggest marine groups — China Ocean Shipping Group and China Shipping Group — as part of the government’s efforts to overhaul inefficient state-run companies and bolster an economy that’s growing at its slowest pace in decades.

Cosco Pacific’s terminals handled 19.3 million 20-foot containers last year, 1.1 percent more than in 2014, according to the statement. The company, which operates most of its container terminal business in China, signed an agreement with PSA International for an investment in Singapore Monday.

The company’s shares fell 1.3 percent to HK$8.88 as of the midday trading break in Hong Kong Tuesday. The shares have gained 4 percent this year.

Cosco Pacific said revenue from the terminals businesses fell by 5.8 percent to $487 million mainly due to the depreciation of the euro and the renminbi against the dollar.

© 2016 Bloomberg L.P

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