Xiamen boxport volumes keep rising
The port of Xiamen, managed to defy the general container market slowdown as it boosted efforts to attract domestic trade volumes to counter the gloomy foreign trade market, Seatrade Asia online reports.
Container throughput rose 10.5% year-on-year to 630,000 teu in July. Domestic cargo grew 21.5% to 140,000 teu, according to local news reports. .
Meanwhile major terminal operator Xiamen International Port saw first half profit fall 16.2% to RMB125.2m, despite a 13.4% rise in revenue to RMB1.49bn. The increase in revenues was mainly due to the increase in revenues from trading business of merchandise, manufacturing and selling of building materials, ancillary value-added port services and bulk/general cargo loading and unloading. The container handling and storage business however was a drag on earnings, Xiamen Port said. The group saw first half container throughput riseof 1,967,829 teu, up 8.2% from 1.82m teus previously.
The decrease in profit was largely blamed on the downturn in the container business exacerbated by fierce competition at the port. Increased corporate income tax expenses from the cessation tax breaks also weighed on profits. For the group, domestic volumes rose 18.9% in the first half to 374,000 teu, accounting for nearly one fifth of the group's total container throughput.