Cosco Pacific Ltd, part of the country's largest shipping group, more than doubled first-quarter profit because of rising volumes at its container terminals and higher earnings from a box-making affiliate.

Net income excluding non-recurring items jumped to $97.2 million from $41.5 million a year earlier, the Hong Kong-based company said in a statement to the city's stock exchange Tuesday. Sales from continuing operations rose 20 percent to $130.3 million.

The company's terminals handled 20 percent more containers than a year earlier helped by the addition of more facilities and China's rising exports of toys, furniture and auto parts to the US and Europe. The profit contribution from box-maker China International Marine Containers (Group) Co jumped fourfold to $43.9 million after an increase in sales.

Yanzhou Coal profit rises 18%

Yanzhou Coal Mining Company, the country's fourth-biggest coal producer, posted an 18 percent gain in first-quarter profit as prices rose and demand for the fuel increased in the worlds fastest-growing major economy.

Net income climbed to 2.48 billion yuan ($380 million), or 0.5034 yuan a share, from 2.1 billion yuan, or 0.4271 yuan, a year earlier, the Shandong-based producer said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Tuesday. Sales gained 33 percent to 9.3 billion yuan.

"Benefiting from the continuous demand for coal both from domestic and overseas markets, the coal price of the company increased in the first quarter," Yanzhou said.

The fuel was sold for 691.6 yuan a ton, according to the statement. Raw coal production rose 12 percent to 12.37 million metric tons in the quarter.

Mengniu: Milk products safe

China Mengniu Dairy Co, the nation's biggest liquid-milk producer, said its milk products met food safety standards and that no bacteria had yet been detected in tests carried out on students in Shaanxi that fell ill on April 22, according to a statement posted Tuesday on the companys website.

Shares of Mengniu slumped the most in more than five weeks in Hong Kong trading on Tuesday after students in Shaanxi province fell sick after drinking its products.

Mengniu fell as much as 10 percent before closing 3.4 percent lower at HK$24, the biggest decline since March 17. The benchmark Hang Seng Index slid 0.5 percent.

About 250 students in the northwestern province of Shaanxi became ill after drinking milk provided by Mengniu to their primary school, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on April 22. The company reiterated in a statement on its website Tuesday that it's cooperating with the government on testing the products to determine the cause of the incident.

Haitong plans to sell shares

Haitong Securities Co, the third-largest brokerage by market value on the mainland, plans to sell shares in Hong Kong for the first time to fund overseas expansion and acquisitions.

The new shares will account for as much as 13 percent of Haitong's capital following the sale, excluding over-allotment, the Shanghai-based company said in a statement released Tuesday. That's about 1.23 billion shares, and may allow Haitong to raise about 12.5 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) based on its April 20 closing price in Shanghai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Haitong will vie with Citic Securities Co to become the first mainland brokerage to be listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai as the mainland opens its capital markets.

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 04/27/2011 page2)