China Merchants Holdings (International) (CMHI)’s profits have risen 29% year on year (y/y) to HKD2.8 billion (USD361.3 million) in the first six months of 2015 due to a growth in port-related manufacturing operations.
Profits derived from the group’s core ports operation grew 10% y/y to HKD2.4 billion, a stock filing of the company said on 31 August. Also, revenues grew 4% y/y to HKD4.1 billion during the period.
Container throughput handled rose 5% y/y to 41.35 million teu, mainly due to contribution from overseas ports, in particular the Sri Lanka project. Container throughput handled by the group’s overseas projects grew 20% y/y to 7.9 million teu, as business rapidly inreased at Colombo International Container Terminals.
The throughput volume of bulk cargoes fell 4% y/y to 174 million tonnes during the same period.
“Although the traditional peak season in the second half of this year is expected to support China’s export trade, China’s port industry would continue to be hampered as growth continued to slow, owing to challenging external and domestic economic conditions,” CMHI said.
“With steady expansion in its overseas projects, the performance of the group’s ports operation seen in the first half is expected to sustain throughout the rest of the year,” the company added.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
