China: Tianjin Port Development Holdings recorded a net profit attributable to shareholders of US$19.04 million in the financial year 2008, down 45 percent year-on-year, on the back of a total revenue of US$184.4 million, a rise of five percent year-on-year.

Zhang Jinming, President of Tianjin Port Development, said the port had handled more empty and transit containers whose handling charges were 50 percent less than that of cargo-filled containers. He added that this was one of the factors affecting the company’s bottom line.

Forty percent of Tianjin Port's total container throughput of 2.77 million TEU was empty while transit containers and the average container handling charge decreased by 2.6 percent year-on-year to US$40.87.

Mr Zhang said that the container handling charge would possibly drop further in the future but that the scope of the fall was narrowing.

Meanwhile, Yu Rumin, Chairman of Tianjin Port Development, predicted that the overall throughput volume of Tianjin Port would maintain growth in 2009 but that the container throughput volume growth would not reach the previous forecast of 20 percent.

Tracey Jia