Asian port heavies hit by trade slowdown

The big Asian container terminal operators saw profits and volumes fall last year as the global financial crisis hammered international trade.

Hong Kong's Hutchison Port Holdings, the world's largest container-terminal operator, China's Cosco Pacific and China Merchants Holdings (International) all posted weaker figures for 2009.

Hutchison reported a 21 percent drop in EBIT from ports and related services to US$4.3 million with an overall three percent decline in throughput for the full year to 65.3 million TEUs.

Hutchison ports in Hong Kong and mainland China saw an eight percent decrease in throughput, while those in the rest of Asia saw a seven percent decline, and ports in the Americas saw a 10 percent throughput drop.

Cosco announced that net profit from its terminal division shrank 31 percent to $83.6 million last year, in large part due to a drop in throughput at its flagship Hong Kong operation, Cosco-HIT.

Throughput at the terminal dropped 22 percent while profit fell 34 percent to $17.1 million.

Other ports partially owned by Cosco Pacific, including Antwerp and Singapore were hit hard with more than $5 million in losses. The Suez Canal Terminal, however, experienced a 27 percent increase in net profit to $9.6 million last year.

The port operator saw its overall net profit drop 37 percent to $172.5 million last year, with net earnings in the fourth quarter dented by $15 million of start-up losses at Greece's Piraeus Port, which the company took over in October.

Chinese port operator China Merchants Holdings (International) said its 2009 net profit fell 13 percent due to a sharp decline in container handling volume.

The blue-chip company said its net profit for the 12 months ended December 31 was $418 million.

China Merchants said its port-handling throughput last year fell 13 percent to 43.87 million TEUs. However, throughput for the company's bulk cargo handling operations recorded a 10 percent increase, lifted by China's increasing demand for bulk cargo imports.

Throughput and port traffic at all three terminal operators has surged in the first two months of the year, a positive sign for the business.

"This year will be better for ports and shipping lines," Hutchison boss Li Ka-shing told reporters at Hutch's results briefing in Hong Kong yesterday.
 

(Source: Cargo News Asia)