COSCO Shipping Holdings reported a net income surge of 73% year-on-year in the first quarter, as the container shipping market continues to recover.

Key Summary

• Financial Highlights: In Q1 2025, revenue reached 57.96 billion yuan, an increase of 20.05% year-on-year; net income was 11.69 billion yuan, up 73.12% year-on-year; EPS was 0.74 yuan, a rise of 76.19% year-on-year.

• Business Performance: Container transportation volume reached 6.4815 million TEUs, an increase of 7.53% year-on-year; international routes saw a per-container revenue of 1,311 USD, up about 12% year-on-year.

• Strong Cash Flow: Cash flow from operating activities net amount was 15.06 billion yuan, up 69.49% year-on-year; total assets reached 509.6 billion yuan.

• Route Revenue: Revenue from trans-Pacific routes increased by 26.30% year-on-year, other international routes increased by 33.32%, demonstrating strong market demand.

• Terminal Business: Total throughput reached 35.7489 million TEUs, an increase of 7.48% year-on-year, with the southwest coastal and Zhujiang River Delta regions performing the best.

• Capital operation: The company is actively repurchasing shares, having completed the buyback and cancellation of approximately 0.328 billion shares in both A-shares and H-shares, demonstrating confidence in future development.

The Red Sea crisis has driven up marine transportation prices, with COSCO Shipping Holdings exceeding expectations in the first quarter.

COSCO Shipping Holdings (601919) released its first quarter 2025 earnings report today, delivering financial results that surpassed market expectations. In the context of global supply chain tension and international turbulence, the company's major performance indicators are all in the red, indicating that the container shipping market is in a strong recovery cycle.

Significant performance growth with continuous market share expansion.

The earnings report shows that COSCO Shipping Holdings achieved a revenue of 57.96 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 20.05%; net income attributable to shareholders amounted to 11.69 billion yuan, a substantial year-on-year increase of 73.12%; and basic EPS reached 0.74 yuan, a year-on-year growth of 76.19%. Additionally, the cash flow from operating activities (CFO) reached a net amount of 15.06 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 69.49%, demonstrating the company's strong cash generation capability.

The increase in performance is primarily due to the simultaneous rise in cargo volume and revenue per container in the container shipping business. Data shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the company's container shipping business achieved a cargo volume of 6.4815 million TEUs, an increase of 7.53% compared to the same period last year; revenue per container on international routes reached 1,311.09 USD, an increase of 139.03 USD year-on-year.

Differentiation in route revenue, with strong performances in trans-Pacific and other international routes.

From the perspective of route revenue, the company has generally achieved growth across its major routes, but the growth rate varies.

• Trans-Pacific routes: Revenue increased by 26.30% year-on-year, contributing 15.83 billion yuan to the company.

• Asia-Europe routes (including the Mediterranean): Revenue increased by 5.07% year-on-year, amounting to 10.88 billion yuan.

• Within Asia (including Australia): Revenue increased by 20.02% year-on-year, totaling 13.4 billion yuan.

• Other international routes (including the Atlantic): Revenue increased by 33.32% year-on-year, reaching 8.44 billion yuan.

• Mainland China: Revenue increased by 13.52% year-on-year, amounting to 3.15 billion yuan.

It is noteworthy that the trans-Pacific routes and other international routes (including the Atlantic) saw the most significant growth, which may be related to route adjustments and tight shipping capacity caused by the Red Sea crisis.

Profitability has significantly improved, with a substantial increase in the EBIT margin.

In terms of profitability, the company's container shipping business achieved an EBIT of 14.76 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 80.7%; the EBIT margin reached 26.42%, an increase of 8.87 percentage points compared to the previous year, indicating significant achievements in cost control and operational efficiency.

At the same time, the company's financial expenses amounted to -1.24 billion yuan (net income), mainly due to the company's ample cash reserves. As of March 31, 2025, the company's Cash / Money Market reached 187.91 billion yuan, providing a solid guarantee for the company's future development and response to market fluctuations.

Port business shows stable growth, with varying regional performances.

In terms of port business, COSCO Shipping Holdings' COSCO SHIP PORT achieved a total terminal throughput of 35.7489 million standard boxes in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 7.48%. Among them:

• Southwest Coastal Region: 12.07% year-on-year growth, the best performance.

• CNI Zhujiang Index Region: 10.22% year-on-year growth, strong growth momentum.

• CNI Bohai Index Region and Yangtze River Delta Region: year-on-year growth of 6.74% and 6.92% respectively.

• Overseas regions: a year-on-year growth of 6.72%, indicating stable development of international business.

Frequent capital operations and active buybacks demonstrate confidence.

During the reporting period, COSCO Shipping Holdings actively repurchased shares. The company completed the cancellation of approximately 0.1 billion A-share stocks repurchased on April 8, 2025, and the cancellation of approximately 0.228 billion H-shares repurchased on April 9, 2025. At the same time, the Board of Directors also approved a new round of repurchase plans for A-shares and H-shares, demonstrating the management's confidence in the company's future development.

It is noteworthy that the 18th meeting of the 7th Board of Directors approved the proposal to reduce registered capital and abolish the Supervisory Board; these changes will take effect after being approved at the shareholder meeting and registered with the market registration authority.

Market outlook: Shipping freight rates remain high, and COSCO Shipping Holdings is expected to continue benefiting.

From an industry perspective, the shipping route adjustments caused by the Red Sea crisis and the global supply chain tensions are expected to continue for some time. Container shipping freight rates are likely to remain relatively high in the short to medium term. As one of the leading global container shipping companies, COSCO Shipping Holdings is expected to continue benefiting from this trend.

However, investors should also pay attention to the potential impacts of slowing global economic growth, geopolitical risks, and increased new ship supply on the shipping market. In the long run, the company's strategic fleet expansion, continuous optimization of route structure, and strengthening of port and shipping collaboration will help enhance its ability to respond to cyclical market fluctuations.

As a barometer of the shipping industry, COSCO Shipping Holdings' strong performance in the first quarter not only reflects the company's own competitiveness improvement but also indirectly reflects the opportunities brought by the recovery of global trade and the reconstruction of the supply chain.