Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPHT) has reported earnings of HK$94.9 million ($16.2 million) for the 1HFY2023 ended June 30, 86.8% lower than earnings of HK$716.3 million in the corresponding period the year before.
Earnings per unit attributable to unitholders stood at 1.09 HK cents, down 86.8% y-o-y.
Revenue and other income fell by 19.9% y-o-y to HK$5.18 billion as combined container throughput of HIT, COSCO-HIT and ACT (collectively known as HPHT Kwai Tsing) fell by 18.2% y-o-y mainly due to lower local and transshipment cargoes.
HIT refers to Terminals 4, 6, 7 and two berths in Terminal 9 at Kwai Tsing in Hong Kong while COSCO-HIT refers to Terminal 8 East at Kwai Tsing. ACT refers to Terminal 8 West, also at Kwai Tsing.
During the 1HFY2023, the container throughput of Yantian International Container Terminals (YICT), fell by 12.4% y-o-y mainly due to the decrease in outbound cargos to the US and the European Union (EU) as well as empty cargoes. Outbound cargoes to the US and EU fell by 18% and 6% y-o-y respectively.
YICT comprises Yantian International Container Terminals Phases I & II, Phase III & Phase III Expansion, and Shenzhen Yantian West Port Terminals Phases I & II.
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Average revenue per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) for Hong Kong and China stood lower y-o-y mainly due to lower storage income and the depreciation of the renminbi (RMB).
Throughput volume for the group fell by 15% y-o-y to 9.97 million TEUs.
Operating profit fell by 35.7% y-o-y to HK$1.58 billion due to lower revenue, lower other operating income and higher other operating expenses.
Share of losses after tax of joint ventures (JV) stood at HK$8.8 million compared to share of profits after tax of JVs of HK$47.2 million in the six-month period the year before.
Profit for the period fell by 55.4% y-o-y to HK$580.6 million.
For the period, HPHT announced an interim distribution per unit (DPU) of 5.50 HK cents, down from the 6.50 HK cents in DPU for the 1HFY2022.
Unitholders will receive their distributions on Sept 22.
As at June 30, cash and cash equivalents stood at HK$7.15 billion. As at the same period, 63% of the trust’s long-term debt are on fixed interest rates. “For every 50 basis point (bps) increase [in interest rates], the monthly interest expense would increase by HK$4.3 million based on the latest loan profile,” says the trust.
Looking ahead, the trust says it is seeing some easing in the drop in volume of exports to the US and EU. For instance, in YICT, China exports to the EU fell by around 11% y-o-y in the first three months of 2023 but has since eased to 9% in May and 6% by June.
“An increase in the number of empty containers coupled with a decrease in laden containers in our yard in recent months may also indicate the market is preparing for a pick-up in export orders in the second half of the year,” says the trust in its July 25 statement.
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In Hong Kong, however, the trust says cargo volume has not seen a substantial recovery in the 1HFY2023 despite the relaxation of measures.
On sustainability, the trust has achieved and exceeded its target of reducing its overall emissions intensity by 5% between 2021 and 2026. The trust is now aiming to reduce emissions intensity by 30% between 2021 and 2030.
In a separate filing, HPHT announced the retirement of Chan Tze Leung, Robert from the board. Chan had been on the trust's board for over nine years since Feb 14, 2011. Prior to his retirement, he had served as the trust's independent non-executive director and chairman of its remuneration committee. Chan was also a member of the trust's audit committee.
In his place, Lee Kah Lup has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of the trust. His appointment will take effect on July 26. Lee is currently an executive director at Clean Kinetics. In his previous roles, he was the vice-president in marketing at Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering).
Units in HPHT USD closed 0.3 US cents lower or 1.53% down at 19.3 US cents. Units in HPHT SGD closed 0.5 cents lower or 1.92% down at 25.5 cents on July 25.
