Shanghai Int'l Port Group 2007 profit up 22.75%

Shanghai International Port (Group) Co<600018>, the operator of the busiest container port in China, booked a nice increase of 22.75% year-on-year in net profit for the fiscal year of 2007 due to rising container business.

Net income climbed to RMB 3.64 billion (US$519 million), or RMB 0.17 apiece last year, compared with RMB 2.97 billion, or RMB 0.14 apiece a year earlier, said the company in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday. That accords with its preliminary earnings announcement made in January.

Sales jumped 27.6% from the previous year to hit RMB16.3 billion in 2007. Container throughput soared 20.4% to 26.15 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), making it the world's second-largest container harbor operator, according to the statement. Total cargo volume aggregated 353 million tons, up 16.5% over 2006.

However, the company is likely to face a tough outlook this year amid the government's tight monetary policy and global recession. It aims to reach container throughput of 30 million TEUs and total cargo handling of 385 million tons in 2008.