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China Shipping Swings to Loss

Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.

March 31, 2016

 China Shipping Container Lines Co. posted a net loss of 2.9 billion yuan ($448.5m)  in 2015, compared with profit of 1.04 billion yuan in 2014, the nation’s second-biggest container shipping company said in a statement. 

 
China Shipping in January had forecast a loss of 2.8 billion yuan for 2015. The revenues also fell 12% to RMB31.83bn from RMB36.08bn previously, the company said.
 
The operating result has been of sign negative for -2.49 billion yuan respect to an operating profit of 1.96 billion yuan in 2014.
 
Both international and domestic volumes were affected, falling 3.6% and 3.4% respectively. 
 
Last year the fleet of portacontainer of Chinese CSCL has transported cargo volumes pairs to altogether 7.8 million container teu, with a contraction of the -3.5% on 2014, activity that has generated revenues pairs to a total of 28.64 billion yuan (- 10.2%). 
 
While the fall in international trade lanes was blamed on the "significant slowdown in global economic recovery and weakened demand for container transport", the drop in domestic volumes was "primarily due to limited shipping space utilization rate and tendency of saturation of domestic market which in turn restrained market growth", CSCL said.
 
In addition the results were even harder hit by the plunge in freight rates. "Decrease in freight rates was primarily due to a slowdown in global economic growth, a sluggish international shipping market and an imbalance in supply and demand in 2015, which led to substantial drop in overall freight rate," CSCL explained, echoing all the lines that had reported before it.
 
Under the new structure, China Cosco operates container ships and China Shipping is a leasing and financing company for vessels and boxes. 
 
Cosco Pacific Ltd. holds wharf assets held by China Shipping to operate the combined company’s terminals globally. China Shipping Development Co. will be the focal point for oil- and gas-transportation business.
 
The combined Chinese company has 7.4 percent of the global container shipping market, the largest share among Asian operators, according to Alphaliner.
 

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