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HONG
KONG—China Cosco Holdings Ltd., Asia’s largest
container-shipping line, rose by the most in three weeks
in Hong Kong trading after the company boosted its
profit forecast for this year.
China
Cosco gained 5.6 percent to HK$23.40 as of 11:19 a.m. in
Hong Kong, heading for the biggest gain since November
29, after earlier climbing as much as 7.7 percent. The
stock has surged more than fivefold this year, beating
the 36-percent advance of the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
Net
income will probably jump ninefold this year to 18
billion yuan ($2.44 billion), according to a China Cosco
statement to Shanghai’s stock exchange Thursday. Demand
for commodities to feed the world’s fastest-growing
major economy combined with
China’s surging exports have boosted orders for shipping
services.
“Dry-bulk shipping will be the main profit driver for
the company,” said Stella Kei, a Hong Kong-based analyst
at UOB Kay Hian Ltd. “The market looks good for 2008 and
2009 on strong demand for iron ore and coal from China
and India.”
The
Baltic Dry Index, a measure of chartering rates for
different sized vessels, fell 1.6 percent to 9,591
Wednesday. The index hit a record close of 11,039 on
November 13.
The
container-shipping line agreed in September to buy 412
dry-bulk vessels for 34.6 billion yuan from its parent
to tap rising imports of iron ore, coal and grain.
China’s
surging economy has helped dry-bulk rates more than
double this year.
China
Cosco said December 18 it got regulatory approval to
sell 864.3 million shares to parent China Ocean Shipping
(Group)
Co. to buy the world’s largest fleet of dry-bulk ships. It also
plans to sell 432.7 million new shares to as many as 10
institutional investors.
The
company will probably include the dry-bulk unit in its
fourth-quarter earnings results, Kei said.
Profit
is likely to be 50-percent higher than a forecast of
12.17 billion yuan made in September, based on
international accounting standards, China Cosco said.
The
company posted a third-quarter profit of 664 million
yuan and sales of 12.5 billion yuan, helped by surging
exports of furniture, toys and clothing. The company
listed shares in
Shanghai
in June. (Bloomberg) |
