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Cosco Profit Plummets Amid Middle East Shipping Woes
29 Apr
Summary
- First-quarter profit dropped by 50% to 5.9 billion yuan.
- Revenue declined 11% with the transpacific route hit hardest.
- Middle East conflict poses significant challenges to global shipping.
Cosco Shipping Holdings has announced a 50% decrease in its first-quarter profit, with net income falling to 5.9 billion yuan ($863 million). This downturn follows an 11% dip in revenue, which reached 51.8 billion yuan for the period.
The company highlighted that ongoing conflict in the Middle East presents "significant challenges" to the global shipping sector's safety and stability. Despite this, Cosco had previously indicated to investors that its exposure to the Middle East conflict was limited.
Analysts noted that first-quarter container freight rates were 14% lower compared to the prior year. Cosco has resumed bookings for general cargo to nations like the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
