Chinese ports investor Cosco Pacific saw 2010 net profit double from a year earlier due to an increase in container volumes as international trade continued to recover from the global financial crisis.
Cosco Pacific, a unit of shipping firm China Cosco Holdings, said its net profit for the 12 months ended December 31 was US$361.3 million, up from $172.5 million a year earlier.
Managing Director Xu Minjie said major terminals in China have started to raise their tariffs this year, which will benefit the port industry, but he also warned rising inflation could pose challenges, reported The Wall Street Journal.
He added Hong Kong-listed Cosco Pacific would continue to expand its existing terminal operations, while also seeking investment opportunities in "prime terminals" this year. He didn't elaborate.
The world's fifth-largest container port operator by throughput booked a gain of $85 million from the sale of its 49 percent stake in a logistics venture, Cosco Logistics, to its parent for $305 million as part of efforts to improve the company's cash position and focus on its terminals business.
Revenue rose 28 percent to $446.5 million from $349.4 million.
The blue-chip firm, which has stakes in container terminals in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Belgium, Egypt, and Greece, and competes with the likes of China Merchants Holdings (International) and DP World, said its net debt-to-equity ratio fell to 30 percent at the end of last year from 42 percent a year earlier. The company's cash balance was $524.3 million at the end of last year, up 29 percent from $405.8 million a year earlier.
The container shipping industry has staged a rapid comeback since the end of 2009, fuelled by inventory restocking by retailers and improved consumer demand. Cosco Pacific said its total container throughput last year rose 19 percent to 48.52 million TEUs from 40.64 million TEUs a year earlier, thanks to China's rapid recovery.
The company's container-terminal throughput in China accounted for 88.8 percent of its total throughput last year.