HPH Trust 2012 profit up 16pc to US$293.95 million as revenue rises 28pc




Management at The Port Of Felixstowe is looking to cut the productivity bonus for the front line staff at the Port. It seems that high productivity is no longer a priority ??????.


HONG KONG's global terminal operator HPH Trust, the second biggest in the world after Singapore's PSA International, posted a 16 per cent year on year net profit increase in 2012 to HK$2.28 billion (US$293.95 million) drawn on revenues of HK$12.42 billion, up 28 per cent.

HPH Trust's deep-water ports throughput was up five per cent year on year, despite the challenging business environment, said the company.

But the company also said revenue and other income for 2012 were nine per cent below projections "as the demand on the US and Europe trade has been weak since 2011".

Fourth quarter revenue was two per cent higher year on year and quarterly net profit attributable to shareholders was six per cent above last year's.

"The prolonged euro zone crisis and slow US recovery continue to hamper the global economic growth. Euro zone slump deepened as manufacturing activities shrank, which was caused by weak consumer sentiment, reduced investment and government spending," said the HPH statement accompanying the results.

But recent US data showed signs of improvement and American investment is picking up with more jobs are being created as US housing market shows signs of a rebound, said HPH.

"Emerging countries continue to play a significant role in driving the global recovery. Transshipment along with trade routes such as the Far East, Africa, Central and South America and Oceania continue to expand and are expected to outperform those of the US and Europe.

"With the policy easing [government borrowing to sustain spending] to support GDP growth, China's economic recovery is gaining momentum. The manufacturing activities have turned from contraction to growing at a mild pace in the three consecutive months since October 2012," the statement said.

"China continues to be the key engine of global growth with Pearl River Delta region remaining a main cargo source and the gateway to the Guangdong province's trade catchment area. HPH Trust's ports shall continue to benefit from China's growth.

"Shipping lines are increasingly deploying mega-vessels, entering into more vessel sharing agreements, adopting slow steaming and consolidating traffic at larger ports as part of their strategy to achieve economies of scale and reduce costs," said HPH.

"All of these measures are expected to benefit HPH Trust's ports given their superior infrastructure, natural deep water channels, long contiguous berths and scale of operations," said the statement.

Who owns HPH?: Hutchison Port Holdings is the ports section of a conglomerate based in Hong Kong. It’s called Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and controlled by a billionaire named Li Ka-Shing.


Where does HPH operate?: HPH operates in around 50 ports in 25 countries including China, Hong Kong, Holland, UK and parts of South America and the Caribbean.

For every 100 containers that are moved globally, 14 go through a HPH terminal.

Profit: HPH made an operating profit of USD$50,000 for every worker in 2010, or a total of $1.5 billion. That was 11% higher than 2009. 

Headquarters location: Kwai Chung, Hong Kong

Expansion plans:

HPH is reportedly interested in acquiring ports in ‘prime locations’ where the ‘price is right’.

China: In January 2011 HPH increased it’s stake in the Yantian Port from 48% to 53.4% and in Hong Kong from 66.5% to 76.5%.
Sweden: The Swedish Court of Appeal has given the go ahead to the construction of a new container port 30 kilometres from Stockholm which is set to be managed by HPH.
East Africa: HPH is among bidders to operate an EU funded port owned by the governments of Ethiopia and Somaliland.

Other info: Since 2006 PSA has owned a 20% stake in HPH and it looks like the two companies try to avoid direct competition.


http://www.hutchison-whampoa.com/eng/ports/overview.htm



Financial Highlights



2012HK$
(in millions)
US$ (1)
(in millions)
Total Revenue
   (including share of associates and jointly controlled entities)
398,39151,076
Profit attributable to shareholders of the Company26,1283,350
Earnings per share for profit attributable to shareholders of the Company$6.13$0.786
Dividend per share$1.53$0.196


(1)
Amounts in these accounts are stated in Hong Kong dollars (HK$), the currency of the place in which the Company is incorporated and is the functional currency of the Company. The translation into US dollars of these accounts as of, and for the year ended, 31 December 2012, is for convenience only and has been made at the rate of HK$7.80 to US$1. This translation should not be construed as a representation that the Hong Kong dollar amounts actually represented have been, or could be, converted into United States dollars at this or any other rate.

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