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HPH Trust sees profit drop in Q3

HPH Trust sees profit drop in Q3
Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust) has reported lower net profit in the third quarter even as revenue and container throughput rose over the same period of last year.

Net profit in the quarter ended 30 September 2014 fell 9% year-on-year to HKD490.7m ($63.3m) while revenue inched up 2% to HKD3.42bn.

The container throughput of HIT in Kwai Tsing, Hong Kong increased 2.1% compared to the same quarter of 2013, primarily due to higher transhipment volume but was offset by weaker intra-Asia cargoes.

Throughput at Yantian International Container Terminals (YICT) located in Shenzhen increased by 12.4% year-on-year, mainly due to the growth in transhipment and US cargoes.

“Growth in the US and Europe is a major factor in determining the total volume of containers handled by HPH Trust. Consensus outlook for both is favourable in 2014,” the port operator commented.

“In view of overcapacity and moderate demand, leading liners continue to deploy mega-vessels to promote economies of scale, form carrier alliances such as 2M (Maersk and MSC) and Ocean 3 (China Shipping, CMA CGM and UASC) to control costs, boost efficiency, expand the coverage of vessel-sharing schemes to strengthen competitiveness,” HPH Trust said.

It added that it is well positioned to pursue and benefit from these development and from servicing these large shipping alliances.