Sponsored By

CSCL hit by 97% plunge in first half profit

China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) has posted a sharp fall in profit for the first six months of 2015, due mainly to an absence of other gains and a drop in revenue.

Lee Hong Liang, Asia Correspondent

August 28, 2015

1 Min Read
Kalyakan - stock.adobe.com

The container carrier arm of China Shipping Group (CSG) reported a profit of RMB19.1m ($2.98m), a plunge of 97% compared to RMB444.82m in the previous corresponding period.

Revenue also fell to RMB15.99bn during the first half ended 30 June 2015 compared to RMB17.41bn in the year-ago period.

During the first half, CSCL was hit by a deficit of RMB17.52m on disposal of items and foreign exchange losses, as against the gain of RMB886.02m in the same period of last year.

The sluggish global container shipping market also did not help the company generate substantial income from freight rates. “Freight rates for Asia-Europe trade lanes hit record low levels under the impact of new shipping capacity put into market amid a weak economic growth momentum in the eurozone,” CSCL said.

It added that freight rates for Asia Pacific trade lanes underwent volatility under the gradual upgrade of shipping capacity.

The company said that it loaded container volume amounted to 3.99m teu in the first half, an increase of only 1% year-on-year, and revenue went down by 8.1% to RMB15.99bn.

“In the second half of 2015, international trade still won’t be cheerful,” CSCL stated.

“With the massive influx of new shipping capacity, shipping market will face even more uncertainties. The shipping industry is gradually developing towards scale expansion, intensive operation and supply chain integration. Threshold of market entry and service standards will continue to rise along with the increasing scale of container liners, innovations in large vessel operations and in service concepts.”

Meanwhile, the shares trading of CSCL remained suspended pending a major announcement by its parent CSG that is widely believed to be a merger with compatriot Cosco Group.

About the Author

Lee Hong Liang

Asia Correspondent

Singapore-based Lee Hong Liang provides a significant boost to daily coverage of the Asian shipping markets, as well as bringing with him an in-depth specialist knowledge of the bunkering markets.

Throughout Hong Liang’s 14-year career as a maritime journalist, he has reported ‘live’ news from conferences, conducted one-on-one interviews with top officials, and had the ability to write hard news and featured stories.

 

Get the latest maritime news, analysis and more delivered to your inbox
Join 12,000+ members of the maritime community

You May Also Like