COSCOL Profit Jumps
Shanghai Stock Exchange-listed COSCO Shipping Company Limited (COSCOL) says its profits shot up 491% year on year (y/y) to CNY193M ($31M) in 2014. Revenue improved 3% year-on-year.
The results also boosted by government subsidies and benefitted from cost cutting measures. On 30 September the company received a total of CNY183M in government subsidies for scrapping old tonnage and replacing them with new building orders.
In 2013, the Chinese government introduced policies with subsidies to encourage Chinese ship-owners to scrap older Chinese-flagged vessels. The subsidies would be doubled if the ship-owners then ordered new tonnage at Chinese shipyards to replace the scrapped tonnage.
Coscol had earlier announced orders to construct four 28,000 dwt heavy lift vessels at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Shanghai Shipyard, with an option for two additional units.
Meanwhile, Qianhai Kaiyuan Fund (QKF) has become the first major private investor in a state-owned ship-owner with a move for Coscol shares. The Chinese fund has agreed to buy half of its $402m private placement as it moves towards a more diversified shareholder base.
