Hutchison Ports Daily Online News - HPH Trust sees double-digit profit jump

But one-off monetary gains last year hide a disappointing result for the first three quarters of 2016
HUTCHISON Port Holdings Trust has reported a 10% increase in its net profit attributable to unitholders of HK$2.23bn ($287.47m) for the first nine months of 2016, but one-off gains last year mask what has been a disappointing year to date.
Discounting rent and rates reimbursed last year at HPH Trust’s Hong Kong facility Hutchison International Terminal and additional depreciation due to the change of an accounting estimate in 2015, the company’s net profit attributable to unitholders for the period would be 17% down on last year.
Revenue and other income for January through September was recorded at HK$9bn, down 7%, or HK$623.3m, on 2015 levels.
Box throughput at HPH Trust facilities, covering HPH’s assets in south China, fell 7%to 16.7m teu in the first nine months of 2016.
The terminal operator’s Shenzhen-based subsidiary Yantai International Container Terminal contributed just shy of 8m teu, representing a 4% drop in traffic year on year, while combined figures at Hong Kong-based subsidiaries, namely HIT, Cosco-HIT and Asia Container Terminals, were down 11% to 8.7m teu.

HPH Trust attributed weak demand to falls in US exports during the second quarter and European exports in the third. While trade to the US has picked up since on the back of the country’s economic momentum, this has been unable to offset a slowdown in European trade as a result of weak consumer sentiment, high unemployment and the knock-on effects from Brexit.
However, HPH Trust added that volumes at YICT in the first nine months of 2016 were also affected by a fall in the handling of empties and transhipment cargo. HIT also suffered from weak intra-Asia trade and transhipment traffic.
“The service rationalisation of various global shipping alliances has negatively impacted the transhipment volume of both HIT and YICT over the past few quarters,” said HPH Trust.

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