Panama Port loss cuts CK Hutchison throughput by 1%

Excluding Panama, throughput rose 3% YoY.

CK Hutchison Holdings said the “forced termination” of operations at two Panama Canal ports reduced its overall port throughput by 1% to 43.6 million TEUs in the first half of 2026 (H1 2026), although volumes across the rest of its port portfolio increased year-on-year (YoY).

Local cargo accounted for 68% of the total, whilst transhipment cargo made up the remaining 32%.

Excluding Panama, throughput rose 3% YoY. HPH Trust was a key contributor to the increase.

Volumes at Yantian rose 5%, driven by higher outbound laden cargoes to the US and European Union.

The Chinese Mainland and Other Hong Kong segment increased 6%, particularly at Shanghai ports, whilst volumes in the Asia, Australia, and Others segment rose 2%.

The company reported that underlying profit attributable to ordinary shareholders, excluding UK Telecom, rose 7% to $12.58b.

Net profit climbed to $26.80b from $852m a year earlier, largely because of a one-off gain of $14.22b from the sale of telecom assets.

Despite the loss of Panama-related earnings, EBITDA increased 4% to $9.03b, and EBIT rose 3% to $6.73b in reported currency.

Excluding Panama, underlying EBITDA and EBIT increased 10% and 9%, respectively, in reported currency. In local currencies, the increases were 6% and 5%.

The company attributed the gains mainly to higher contributions from Yantian and Shanghai ports, as well as higher ancillary services income in Mexico.

These gains were partly offset by a lower contribution from an associated shipping-line company.

Revenue for the port division rose 4% to $24.52b YoY, although it was unchanged in local-currency terms.

Storage income increased 8%, led by Oman and Pakistan.

CK Hutchison said conditions in the second half remained uncertain, citing the conflict in the Middle East and trade tensions, including the US administration's reintroduction of tariffs.

It also warned that companies moving cargoes ahead of expected tariff increases could put further pressure on sustained volume growth.

The interim dividend increased by 5% to $0.7455 per share.