COSCO Ship Holding’s 2021 first half profit rocketed 21-fold year-on-year to US$6.53 billion as the strong container shipping market propelled its earnings to new highs.
The group’s container shipping business generated a profit of US$7.21 billion, more than doubling from US$356.82 million in 2020 H1.
In the meantime, revenue was up 88% year-on-year to US$21.2 billion, while container shipping contributed US$20.77 billion.
During the first six months of the year, the group’s container shipping businesses, represented by COSCO Shipping Lines (COSCON) and OOCL, carried a total of 13.84 million TEU, an increase of 17% year-on-year. COSCON handled 9.91 million TEU, up 16% year-on-year and OOCL carried 3.93 million TEU, up 19% year-on-year.
To respond to the supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19, COSCON and OOCL chartered more ships and designated vessels for certain routes. As of 30 June, COSCON’s shipping capacity increased by 3.7% over the end of the same period of last year. The shipping capacity of Trans-Pacific routes and Asia-Europe routes increased by 12% and 13% year-on-year, respectively.
In addition, COSCON and OOCL maximised the operating efficiency of shipping capacity and shipping space through the linkage of domestic and foreign trade routes and the optimal allocation of shipping capacity of foreign trade routes.
In 2021 first half, COSCON and OOCL, together with the members of the OCEAN Alliance, officially launched DAY5 products, featuring 40 routes and a shipping capacity of 4.12 million TEUs of the alliance. Route coverage and delivery timelines were further improved and achieved a good market response.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
