COSCO Shipping Holdings has reported reduced net profits of RMB 1,322 million (USD 189 million) for its container business segment in the first half of 2020, down from a profit of RMB 1,396 million last year.

Revenues for the segment – covering the group’s dual-brand fleet of COSCO Shipping Lines and OOCL* – were up nearly 4% at RMB 71,587 million. However, EBIT fell to RMB 2,797 million from RMB 3,383 million in 2019, while the EBIT margin fell from 4.9% to 3.9%.

Total liftings fell 5% to 11.8 Mteu in the first six months of the year, with COSCO Shipping Lines sustaining a bigger fall than OOCL, partly due to its mainland China activities. However, overall revenue from liftings rose 4.7%.

Overall, Trans-Pacific volumes were down nearly 4%, while Asia and Europe routes including the Mediterranean fell 6%. Asia region busi- ness, including Australia, fell 1%. However, revenue on these same routes rose 1%, 7% and 14% respectively.

In response to COVID-19, COSCO Shipping strengthened resource allocation in non-China markets. Non-China cargo volumes for the two brands rose to 38.6% in the period, up from 37% in 2019.

Source: Alpahiner