Shanghai Port reports soaring profits for 2007

Shanghai International Port (Group) <600018> reported a net profit of RMB 3.6 billion last year in a preliminary earnings statement to Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday. Its sales stood at RMB 16.3 billion, with the earnings per share of RMB 0.17.

Insiders attribute the soaring profit to the booming cargo traffic in Shanghai and are expecting an even busier traffic in Shanghai this year. Shanghai Port delivered 26.15 million TEUs in 2007, 20.4% higher than the year before. The container throughput was 560 million tons, increasing by 4.2%, said by Shanghai Port and Shipping Administration. More than 30 million TEUs are expected to be handled annually by 2010.

The share price of Shanghai International Port (Group) rose by 1.1% to RMB 9.21 yesterday.

Shanghai International Port (Group) specializes in the handling of containers and the provision of container-related services at Shanghai Port, the world's second busies container port. The company operates its business through four segments: container terminals, non-container terminals, port-related logistics and port services.