China COSCO , which operates the world's largest bulk cargo fleet and is the No.5 container shipper globally by capacity, returned to the red after a profitable 2010, but the loss was below an average forecast for a 617 million yuan loss from three analysts polled by Reuters.
This compared with a net profit of 882.6 million yuan in the same period last year, the company said on Thursday in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange.
Overcapacity, especially in the dry bulk market, knocked the company's first-quarter revenue down 6 percent to 16.4 billion yuan, although China's imports and exports rose 33 percent and 26.5 percent, respectively in the January-March quarter.
The Baltic Exchange's main Baltic Dry Index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities such as grains and iron ore, hit a two-year low of 1,172 in February.
China COSCO said its container shipping volume rose 12 percent in the first three months of 2011 while revenue added 3.8 only percent.
The appreciation of Chinese yuan and fuel price increases also ate into the company's margins.
Its container leasing and terminal operating arm, COSCO Pacific Ltd, reported a first-quarter net profit of $109 million, down 18 percent. (Reuters)
