Sinotrans Shipping H1 profit plunges 63.6%
Sinotrans Shipping showed a drop of 63.6 percent in net profit to US$20.1 million in the first half compared with $55.22 million in the same period last year.
The group's operating profit was down to $6.93 million from $44.91 million in 2011.
Zhao Huxiang, chairman of Sinotrans Shipping,said, “In the first half of 2012, the global economy saw a weakened pace of recovery. The supply glut of the shipping market was aggravated by the lacklustre international trade and seaborne trade demand coupled with the persistent influx of new tonnage. As a result, the global shipping market was dragged into a prolonged period of gloom and the dry bulk shipping market even hit rock bottom again after the financial crisis in 2008.
“In the face of such severe market situation, our group relied on our sound management to respond proactively and take various measures to mitigate adverse impact of the depressed market on our group.’’
During the first half, the group took delivery of two dry bulk newbuilding vessels and sold one aged container vessel to optimise fleet structure.