China COSCO yearly net jumps 135 pct

HONG KONG, April 23 (Reuters) - China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd (1919.HK) (601919.SS), the listed flagship of the country's premier shipping conglomerate, said late on Tuesday its 2007 earnings jumped 134.9 percent as China's heavy demand for raw materials helped lift freight rates for dry bulk ships to records.

China COSCO posted a net profit of 19.48 billion yuan ($2.79 billion) last year, up from 8.29 billion yuan in 2006 on a proforma basis, it said in a statement.

The firm, which operates the world's No. 5 container fleet, said its 2007 results incorporated for the first time the performance of its dry bulk cargo fleet bought from its parent late last year for 34.61 billion yuan ($4.95 billion).

The net beat the company's December guidance of not less than 18.26 billion yuan.

Shares of China COSCO have lost 8.7 percent this year after nearly quadrupling last year on its A share issue and asset injection plan. (Reporting by Alison Leung; Editing by Michael Urquhart)