CSCL reports RMB 488 million net profitin Q1

China Shipping Container Lines Co. (CSCL)<601866><2866>, subsidiary of China Shipping Group Co. reported its net profit reached RMB 488 million in the first quarter of 2008, helped by surging sea-cargo demand, it said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Tuesday.

According to the statement, its earnings per share were RMB 0.04. Sales income reached RMB 10.7 billion. The company did not provide figures for fiscal year 2007.

China Shipping raised RMB 15.5 billion in a Shanghai share sale in December last year, thanks to increasing demand for Chinese-made goods in Europe and the U.S. As a result, its container volume surged 29% to 7.3 million boxes last year, sources said, the company planned to boost its shipping capacity by 15% to 512,361 TEUs this year.

Its A-shares and H-shares closed at RMB 6.05 and HK$3.23 respectively on Tuesday, down 2.89% and 1.22%. The shares have fallen 29% since this year.