Sometimes the important thing is what is not said. When Cosco warned that net losses for 2012 would be “significant”, it should not have come as a huge surprise. The world’s largest operator of dry bulk ships by capacity still suffers from rock-bottom freight rates. It was the absence of a solution for its woes that knocked 5 per cent off Cosco’s shares yesterday. The Tianjin-based operator dual-listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong now faces a potential suspension of its shares in the former if it records a third-consecutive year of losses. Cosco’s losses for 2012 add to an Rmb10bn ($1.7bn) loss in 2011 – the shipping industry’s largest ever. It needs to find a route back to profit.
有時候字裏行間隱藏著更重要的內容。當中遠(Cosco)警告2012年將出現「大幅」虧損時，市場不應感到意外。全球運能最大的乾散貨船舶營運商仍在承受著運費低迷之苦。難以找到出路的中遠，昨日股價大跌5%。這家總部位於天津、在上海和香港兩地上市的航運企業，如果連續第三年出現虧損，將面臨在上海股市被停牌的命運。中遠在2012年虧損之前，在2011年已經遭受100億元人民幣 （合17億美元）虧損——這是航運業有史以來最大的虧損。該公司需要找到扭虧爲盈的路徑。