Gains from paring its stake in a Hong Kong terminal helped Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust) lift first-quarter net profit by 47 percent.
The port operator's earnings for the three months to March 31 came in at US$72.09 million, from $49.05 million a year ago, reported the Straits Times.
The numbers were boosted by a $31.45 million gain after Hutchison Port Holdings Trust reduced its stake in Asia Container Terminals last month from 100 percent to 40 percent.
Asia Container Terminals owns Terminal 8 West at Kwai Tsing in Hong Kong.
Revenue inched up 2.7 percent to $379.2 million.
The average revenue per container handled in Hong Kong was higher than last year due to favourable throughput mix of containers from liners. The port charges different rates for different types of goods handled.
Turnover in China was higher than last year, assisted by fewer concessions granted to some liners.
There were no distributions for the quarter because the business trust makes distribution to unit holders only twice a year - after the second and fourth quarters.
Ivor Chow, chief financial officer of the trustee-manager, said that he expects the trust's ports to handle three to five percent more containers this year compared with last year. That had been the growth rate in 2011 and 2012 until a one percent drop last year due to a strike impacting its port operations in Hong Kong.
Gerry Yim, chief executive of the trustee-manager, said his company has worked closely with port workers to improve industrial relations.
He said the workers and the company have agreed that they should not be fighting each other. Changes to the Hong Kong ports include making toilets more accessible for workers.
A pay deal has been struck that is "sensible for both sides", said Yim.
"So far, we have reached out to them, we have got external people talking to them, we haven't picked up so many things that they are seriously concerned about."
The strike lasted 40 days, from late March to early May last year - one of the longest-running strikes in the city for years.
Chow and Yim also expect Hutchison Port Holdings Trust to benefit from the shipping sector's move towards more alliances and larger vessels.
Alliances to combat the industry's oversupply situation include the P3 Network, announced by shipping giants Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company and CMA in June last year.
"The essence of alliances is the consolidation of capacity and to take out excess capacity," said Chow.
Alliances in the shipping sector are similar to those among commercial airlines, where different companies may fly passengers on the same plane on a code-sharing basis. In both cases, planes or ships will travel closer to full capacity.
"From a port operator's standpoint, much like an airport, we want planes or ships to be fully loaded," said Chow. "If a 747 comes in with 10 people, it wastes my space. For us as a port operator, we want ships to be full."
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