Cosco Pacific Posts Higher Revenue

Container terminal operator Cosco Pacific’s revenue rose by 8.9% to USD 870 million in 2014 when compared to figures from the preceding year.

Revenue from the terminals business rose by 13.6% to USD 516 million, the increase being mainly attributable to Piraeus Container Terminal, Guangzhou South China Oceangate Container Terminal and Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal.

The business of Piraeus Terminal in Greece thrived and its profit rose 25.7% to USD 28 million. The profit from Suez Canal Container Terminal S.A.E. in Egypt rose 8% to USD 11 million. A turnaround was achieved at Antwerp Terminal in Belgium thanks to the continued rapid growth in throughput during the year. The profit from the terminal was USD 4 million.

Growth in profits was also seen at the vast majority of the group’s terminal companies in China. Among these, the performance of Qingdao Qianwan Terminal was the most marked. Thanks to the increased number of containers and growth in average revenue per TEU, profit from the terminal rose 32.2% to USD 39 million.

Revenue from the container leasing, management and sale businesses rose by 2.7% to USD 357 million.

During the year, the fleet size of owned containers and sale-and-leaseback containers and the number of returned containers disposed of increased by 2.6% and 42.4% respectively. However, due to lower lease rates and resale prices of returned containers, the revenue growth was slower than the growth in the number of containers, the company said.

Looking forward, the group expects the throughput of the terminals business to maintain its stable organic growth path.

“The group will continue to expand its terminal network around the globe by riding on the opportunities from the initiatives of “One Belt, One Road” and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, seize opportunities for potential new container hubs and keep abreast of the investment opportunities in high-quality terminals with a view to generating higher profits and returns for the terminals business,” the company said.

In 2015, intense competition is expected to remain a feature of the container leasing industry. Although the demand for new containers has rebounded, leasing rates and container resale prices remain at low levels, Cosco Pacific went on to say.