THE BAD news continues to ship out from container lines with the global number four reporting a weak Q1 2026 and the number six disclosing a giant drop in full-year profits.
COSCO Shipping Holdings’ net profit attributable to shareholders fell 49.75% year on year to RMB 5.88 billion (US$844 million) in the three months to 31 March 2026, while revenue declined 10.63% to RMB 51.80 billion.
Pre-tax profit dropped 49.21% to RMB 8.05 billion, and basic earnings per share fell to RMB 0.38 from RMB 0.74.
COSCO Shipping Holdings attributed the fall to weaker container shipping earnings, with average China Containerised Freight Index levels down 16.32% year on year and revenue per container lower than a year earlier.
Nevertheless, the group lifted 6.92 million TEU in Q1 2026, up 6.70%, year-on-year. Asia-Europe volumes, including the Mediterranean, rose 14.23%, mainland China volumes increased 14.92%, and transpacific volumes slipped 1.35%. International route revenue per TEU fell to US $1,110.36 from $1,311.09.
Container shipping EBIT dropped to RMB 6.97 billion from RMB 14.76 billion, cutting the EBIT margin to 14.05% from 26.42%.
COSCO’s ports business handled 38.92 million TEU, up 8.86%, including a 19.83% rise at overseas terminals.
Meanwhile, Ocean Network Express (ONE) lobbed a 2025 full-year profit (Japan’s financial year runs 1 April- 31 March) down 92%, to US$ 338 million.
The fourth quarter (i.e. Q1 2026) delivered a profit of US$338 million, after lifting 3,195,000 TEU, up from 3,071,000 TEU in 4Q 2025. But average freight rates dropped substantially on main east-west trades, Asia-Europe and Asia-North America.
And full-year liftings grew modestly, from 12,750,000 TEU in 2024 to 12,927,000 in 2025.
ONE noted that while the continued delivery of newbuild vessels increased market supply, this was partially offset by pressures from port congestion and severe weather conditions. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East led to increased costs, but the impact on 4Q results was limited, it said.
The carrier is not optimistic about the current year: “While forecasting for FY2026 remains challenging due to the volatile geopolitical landscape, particularly in the Middle East, full year results are expected to show a profit of US$300 million,” it said.