China's top shipbuilder's profit nosedives: report

China CSSC Holding, the listed arm of China‘s largest shipbuilder, said on Jan. 12 that its profits will likely shrink by 95-100 percent in 2012 from a year earlier, Chinese media reported.

A statement the Shanghai-based firm filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange attributed the slump to a substantial decline in newbuilding prices amid a lingering shipping downturn, according to the Global Times affiliated with the People's Daily. The company’s net profits totaled 2.52 billion yuan ($400 million) in 2011.

China‘s shipping industry has been hit hard by a supply and demand imbalance and rising operating costs, following a brief recovery in 2010, the tabloid newspaper said.

The Shanghai International Shipping Institute said in a report released on Jan. 9 that the downturn is likely to continue in the first six months of this year, the Global Times said.

AJP