New | Port operator China Merchants sees first-half profit rise 11.1pc

China Merchants Holdings (International), one of the world’s biggest port operators, reported first-half net profit attributable to shareholders up 11.1 per cent to HK$2.15 billion from the same period last year as the company started to realise gains on previously invested projects.

Revenue rose 4.8 per cent to HK$3.9 billion.

China Merchants, which has an international portfolio of terminals, handled 38.52 million 20-foot equivalent units (teu) of containerised cargoes, up 18.1 per cent year on year. Throughput for bulk cargoes edged up 2.6 per cent to 181 million tonnes.

The company said it expected the growth could be sustained for the rest of the year.

Its bonded logistics and cold-chain operations saw earnings before interest and tax plummet 32.7 per cent to HK$99 million.

China Merchants declared an interim dividend of 22 HK cents per share, unchanged from a year earlier.