China COSCO Posts 8.4 Pct Fall in H1 Net
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China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd, the listed flagship of the country's premier shipping conglomerate, late on Sunday posted an 8.4 percent fall in first-half earnings, as higher operating costs outweighed revenues from improved shipping rates. State-owned China COSCO earned 968.68 million yuan (US$128 million) for the six months ended June, compared with 1.057 billion yuan a year earlier. Goldman Sachs had expected the company to announce an interim net profit of 1.35 billion yuan. China COSCO is the world's fifth-largest container company, and has a 52 percent stake in sea container leasing and port company COSCO Pacific Ltd. Shares in China COSCO rose more than two-fold in the first half, fuelled by the company's A-share listing in June and expectations that it will buy its parent's $10.5 billion bulk carrier business. The stock beat a 16 percent rise in the China Enterprises index of H shares over the same period. |
