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HPH Trust posts 49% drop in Q1 profit

HPH Trust posts 49% drop in Q1 profit
Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Trust reported lower profit in the first quarter while revenue remained largely unchanged.

Net profit for the quarter ended 31 March 2015 was registered at HKD285.8m ($36.9m), down 48.9% compared to HKD558.9m in the same period of last year.

The profit fell in line with the lower operating income of HKD8.9m for the quarter compared to HKD245.7m a year ago. The decrease was primarily a result of the absence of the net gain of HKD243.8m arising from the disposal of 60% effective interest in Asia Ccontainer Terminals (ACT) in March 2014.

The quarterly revenue remained stable at HKD2.95bn, Singapore-listed HPH Trust announced.

The container throughput of its Hongkong International Terminals (HIT) was about the same as last year, and the container throughput of its Yantian International Container Terminals (YICT) rose by 10% compared to the same quarter of 2014, due chiefly to the growth in US, transhipment and empty cargoes.

“Growth in the US and Europe is a major factor in determining the total volume of containers handled by HPH Trust,” HPH Trust commented.

The company is expecting the fundamentals of the US economy to remain strong with economic activities picking up in the second quarter, while the Eurozone economy is showing signs of recovery since early this year.

HPH Trust also noted that leading liners are continuing to build up their mega vessel fleet, form carrier alliances and expand the coverage of vessel-sharing schemes.

“Capitalising on this trend and with its well-built infrastructures and natural deepwater channels, HPH Trust reinforces its position as the terminal-of-choice for mega-vessels calling at the Pearl River Delta,” it said.