CSCL suffers more than four fold loss as revenues cut by half

CHINA Shipping Container Line experienced 427.6 per cent decline in first half loss of CNY3.1 billion (US$453.7 million) on revenues of CNY8.9 billion, which fell 51.5 per cent year on year.

Shipping volume of the group reached 3,183,635 TEU in the first half of year 2009, a decrease of 11.4 per cent over the same period in 2008 while shipping capacity stood at 489,315 TEU, a fall of 3,701 TEU year on year.

Loaded cargo volume of China domestic lanes during the first half decreased 0.4 per cent year on year while its revenue decreased by 37.4 per cent as revenue per TEU came to CNY1,370, a year-on-year decrease of 37.1 per cent.

For China's container market, during the period from January to June, container throughput handled by ports (with annual container throughput over two million TEU in 2008) was 55.97 million TEU, representing a decrease of 11 per cent, said the company.

Meanwhile, newly added capacity and more idle ships have threatened the stability of the freight rates of the container shipping market, said the group statement.

The group also blamed poor performance one shrinking world trade, which led to a decrease in cargo volume. "Meanwhile, excessive shipping capacity in the market also led to fierce competition and a decrease in freight rates, which adversely affected revenue," said the statement.

But coastal cargo volume remained stable as domestic stimulus funding kicked in, said the company. During the period, the group's cargo volume for international trade lanes decreased by 17.4 per cent while it only fell 0.4 per cent decrease on China's domestic trade lanes.

(www.schednet.com)