China COSCO swings to net loss in H1

SHANGHAI/HONGKONG Aug 27 (Reuters) - China COSCO Holdings (1919.HK) (601919.SS), the flagship of the country's premier shipping conglomerate, swung to a net loss in the first half as the global recession battered the shipping industry.

China COSCO said it booked a 4.59 billion yuan ($671.9 million) net loss during the period, compared with a 15.12 billion yuan profit a year earlier.

The loss was slightly smaller than a consensus forecast of 4.84 billion yuan loss from four analysts polled by Reuters.

China COSCO warned in July of a first-half loss as both its bulk cargo fleet, the largest in the world, and its container ship operation, the world's No. 6, recorded losses. [ID:nHKG256628]

Shares of China COSCO rose 71 percent in Hong Kong in the first six months, beating a 28 percent gain on the blue chip Hang Seng Index .HSI in the same period.

Its Shanghai shares rose about 80 percent in the first half. ($1=6.831 Yuan) (Reporting by Fang Yan and Jacqueline Wong; Editing by Rupert Winchester)