COSCO Chairman Ma Ze Hua
comments on the group's 2012 annual financial report. It has been a challenging year for the Group. Turnover declined 10.3% to $3.7 billion, from $4.2 billion a year ago. Gross profit grew 27.3% from $380.8 million the previous year to $484.9 million for the year under review, mainly due to higher profit contributions from shipyard operations. Net profit attributable to shareholders amounted to $105.7 million, a decrease of 24.3% from $139.7 million in 2011. Earnings per share came in at 4.7 cents as compared to 6.2 cents in 2011.