(20th August 2019, Hong Kong) The board of directors (“the Board”) of COSCO SHIPPING International (Hong Kong) Limited (“COSCO SHIPPING International (Hong Kong))” or the “Company”, stock code: 00517.HK) today announced the unaudited consolidated results of the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively the “Group”) for the period ended 30th June 2019.

In the first half of 2019, increasing uncertainties in global economic growth was constituted by China-US economic and trade frictions, resumption of sanctions against Iran by the United States etc., and which has hindered the recovery of shipping industry. Some major institutions have lowered their estimations of demand growth while the shipping supply and demand contradiction has intensified.

During the period, profit attributable to equity holders of the Company decreased by 18% to HK$150,025,000 as compared to the same period in 2018. Basic earnings per share was 9.79 HK cents (2018:12.01 HK cents). The Board has declared an interim dividend of 7 HK cents (2018:5 HK cents) per share, representing year-on-year increase of 40%, dividend payout ratio of 72% (2018: 42%).

Profit attributable to equity holders of the Company decreased, mainly as a result of the absence of non-recurring incomes recorded last year, including, 1) reversal of provision for impairment of other receivables of HK$17,815,000, 2) government subsidy income of HK$12,229,000 granted by the Shanghai Baoshan District Government for compensation for the relevant costs and expenses for relocating the production plant and resettling the affected staff and 3) net exchange losses of HK$14,091,000 recorded in the period (2018: net exchange gains of HK$39,651,000).

However, COSCO SHIPPING International has proactively examined and optimised its business strategies, and some of its business segments have achieved significant improvements in operational efficiency. In particular, the marine coatings business achieved turnaround profit during the period and Nasurfar Changshu achieved satisfactory performance.

In the second half of the year, COSCO SHIPPING International will respond challenges from the macro-economic environment with high quality development. With the strong support from COSCO SHIPPING Group, COSCO SHIPPING International will continue to implement the established development strategies, and will adhere to the two strategic direction for development, namely “unified operational platform for shipping services industrial cluster” and the “non-financial business investment platform”, in order to accomplish sustainable business development, maximise its enterprise value, and create long-term and stable returns for shareholders.