COSCO Shipping Bounces Back to Profit

COSCO Shipping Shanghai-listed COSCO Shipping Holdings Co, a unit of China Cosco Shipping Corporation Limited (Cosco Shipping), has returned to profit in the first quarter of 2017, driven by a recovery in the container shipping market. The company posted a net profit of CNY 270 million (USD 39.1 million) for the quarter, against a net loss of CNY 4.46 billion reported in the corresponding three-month period of 2016, mainly due to a first quarter investment income of CNY 274 million compared to an investment loss of CNY 2.11 billion for the previous years quarter. The shipping firms revenues for the first three months surged by 48 percent to CNY 20.1 billion from CNY 13.5 billion seen a year earlier, while its operating profit reached CNY 425 million, bouncing back from an operating loss of CNY 4 billion. COSCO Shipping Holdings carried 4.65 million TEUs during the quarter, representing a jump of almost 54 percent compared to 3 million TEUs handled in the same period in 2016, while its revenue from shipping routes surged by 70 percent to CNY 17.1 billion from CNY 10 billion in the respective periods. The companys terminal business saw a 7.5 percent increase in volumes, reaching a total throughput of 29.9 million TEUs in the first quarter of 2017. World Maritime News Staff