(21 March 2025, Shanghai) COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. (“COSCO SHIPPING Holdings” or “the Company”, SSE: 601919; HKEx: 1919) today announced its 2024 annual results.

In 2024, the container shipping market saw moderate growth in cargo volumes driven by a gradual recovery of global trade. Meanwhile, the ongoing turmoil in the Red Sea, resulting in an overall shortage of effective capacity supply and relatively high freight rates.

In this context, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings actively grasped the market opportunities to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces,  promote the transition to the full-chain, digital intelligence and green and low-carbon development. It achieved the goals of creating a stable and robust supply chain and driving high-quality development, and delivered outstanding business performance.

l  COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' net profit attributable to shareholders of the Company doubles year-on-year. According to accounting standards for business enterprises, the Company achieved operating revenue of RMB233.86 billion, representing a 33.29% year-on-year increase; operating costs amounted to RMB164.77 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 12.29%. It realized a EBIT of RMB 69.95 billion, representing an increase of 90.74% year-on-year; the net profit of the Company was approximately RMB55.40 billion, representing an increase of 95.08% year-on-year; the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the Company was approximately RMB49.10 billion, representing an increase of 105.78% year-on-year.

l  The Company continued to reinforce its value creation capability. The return on net assets (ROE) was 22.60%, representing an increase of 10.80 percentage points year-on-year. Earnings per share was RMB3.08, representing an increase of 108.11% year-on-year.

l  The Company's core businesses maintained growth momentum. Of which, shipping volume was 25.94 million TEUs, representing a 10.12% year-on-year increase. The revenue from container shipping business was RMB225.97 billion, representing a 34.40% year-on-year increase. The total throughput was 144.03 million TEUs, representing an 6.06% year-on-year increase, with the revenue from container terminal business was RMB10.81 billion, representing a 3.98% year-on-year increase.

l  The Company was financially sound and has strong ability to resist risks. As of 31 December 2024, the Company's gearing ratio further declined to 42.70%, representing a decrease of approximately 4.69 percentage points as compared with the end of previous year; the Company's net cash inflow from operating activities was RMB69.31 billion in 2024, up 206.91% year-on-year, which provided a strong support for the Company to achieve sustainable development and make good shareholders' returns.

l  COSCO SHIPPING Holdings is actively practicing its dividend return commitment, and the Board of Directors recommended the payment of a final cash dividend for 2024 of RMB1.03(tax included) per share to all shareholders. Together with the cash dividend already paid to all shareholders in the 2024 interim, the cash dividend paid by the Company will account for about 50% of the net profit attributable to shareholders.

l  COSCO SHIPPING Holdings is committed to maintaining the continuity and stability of its profit distribution policy, and following the implementation of the dividend return plan for 2022-2024, the Board of Directors proposes the implementation of the Company's Shareholder Dividend Return Plan for the next three years (2025-2027). In the next three years, the total cash dividend distributed during the year shall account for 30%-50% of the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the Company in the current year.

Since 2024, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings has adhered to its positioning as a “global digital supply chain operation and investment platform with primary focus on container shipping”, coordinated and promoted the integrated development of “container shipping + ports + related logistics” services, accelerated the construction of global shipping routes network, and continuously upgraded its full-chain services. Meanwhile, it accelerated the digital and green transformation, and steadily enhanced the core competitiveness of the Company.

Expanding and developing new horizons through global channel development. In 2024, the Company took delivery of 12 new vessels with a combined capacity of 230,000 TEUs, which have been deployed in the European and American main routes as well as in the emerging markets of Latin America. As at the end of the 2024, the aggregate capacity of the Company's self-operated fleet exceeded 3.3 million TEUs, and called at 629 ports spread across nearly 145 countries and regions in the world. The Company operated 429 international routes and achieved rapid cargo volume growth in Central and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. In response to the profound changes within the shipping alliances, the Company extended its cooperation with the Ocean Alliance members until 2032 and collaborated with them to launch the DAY8 and DAY9 products, releasing a positive signal of stable operation to the market. In the meantime, the Company continued to deepen the integration between its container shipping and port services. It attached great importance to the inauguration of the Port of Chancay in Peru and launched the fastest two-way shipping services between the Port of Chancay and the ports in China along with the launch of “Chancay” series of digital supply chain products. COSCO SHIPPING Ports completed the investment in Egypt’s Ain Sokhna Container Terminal, signed an investment agreement for the terminals in Thai Laemchabang Terminal and further enhanced the service capability of its key ports such as Piraeus Port and Abu Dhabi Terminal. Abu Dhabi Terminal has handled an aggregate throughput of nearly 6 million TEUs since its opening, representing more than 30% growth for three consecutive years. The Company succeeded in expanding its global reach on a firmer footing.

Creating new vitality to business ecosystem through digital intelligence and full-chain services. COSCO SHIPPING Holdings is committed to building a safe, resilient and efficient global supply chain system through ongoing resource inputs and digital transformation. The Company completed the construction of 8 gold-collar overseas investment platforms and 9 supply chain operation platforms.New technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things are widely used in system tools such as supply chain control towers, intelligent warehousing, intelligent trailers, and intelligent customer service,thus accelerating the transformation of its “shipping services” towards “digital supply chain products”. The Company rolled out innovative channel products such as “China’s New Western Land-Sea Trade Corridor + Central Asian Railway”, “Trans-Caspian Multimodal Transport” and “Sea-rail Express + DIAMOND Line”, and launched multiple transportation models and 38 full-chain digital supply chain products, which covered more than 90 countries and regions. In 2024, revenue from supply chain revenue other than ocean shipping amounted to RMB40.94 billion, representing 18.09% growth as compared to that for the same period of previous year. As for the industry ecosystem development, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings successfully hosted the Global Supply Chain Partner Summit and the Convention between Carriers and Ports for Ocean Alliance. Leveraging the GSBN digital platform, the Company issued over 380,000 electronic bills of lading and the self-developed MY Reefer platform Smart PTI expanded coverage to Australia and various countries in Southeast Asia. The global digitalized “ecosystem” was further expanded along with increasing number of participants, thus boosting the efficiency of global trade.

Driving sustainable development through green and low-carbon transformation. As a shipping enterprise with a strong sense of social responsibility, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings aligned itself with the new trends and requirements arising from green and environmentally-friendly development It leveraged technological innovation as a driving force to drive green and low-carbon growth determinedly. In terms of optimization of the fleet structure, the Company signed a contract in the Reporting Period for the construction of twelve 14,000 TEU Latamax methanol dual-fuel powered container vessels. Up to now, the Company has ordered 32 methanol dual-fuel powered container vessels with total capacity of nearly 590,000 TEUs, including the newly-built vessels and existing container vessels retrofitted with methanol dual-fuel powered engines. The Company’s first methanol dual-fuel powered vessel was named as “COSCO SHIPPING Yangpu”. Meanwhile, in 2024, the Company completed the largest domestic single-vessel biofuel bunkering operation and issued more Hi-ECO green shipping certificates, thereby further promoting green transportation practices. In terms of smart and green terminal development, the energy efficiency management platform has been launched in all CSP domestic holding terminals, the intelligent vehicles have been applied in large-scale terminals at home and abroad, and the star-level construction of green ports has been accelerated. These accomplishments mark the Company’s accelerated transformation from a green low-carbon practitioner to a leader in green shipping.

Equity investment to realize value co-creation and win-win. COSCO SHIPPING Holdings adheres to the principle of high-quality sustainable development. With an aim to enhancing core functions and strengthening core competitiveness, the Company made use of capital investment to deepen the cooperation with upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain. In 2024，the Company completed the investment in the H-shares of Midea Group through its IPO program, and made strategic equity investments in Yantian Port and SAIC Anji Logistics. COSCO SHIPPING Lines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, increased its shareholdings in COSCO SHIPPING Logistics Supply Chain to 19%. The aforementioned equity cooperation has deepened the strategic collaboration between upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain and supply chain, and to some extent, has helped stabilizing the Company's overall performance. In 2024, the Company's investment income reached RMB4.8 billion. At the same time, the Company is determined to safeguard the Company’s value and protect shareholders’ rights and interests, with a dividend payout ratio of about 50% each year from 2022 to 2024. In addition, since the announcement of a new round of A-share and H-share repurchase plan in October 2024, the Company had actively implemented share repurchases. As of 21 March 2025, it repurchased a total of approximately 92.31 million A-shares and 208 million H-shares, with a total repurchase amount of about RMB3.56 billion, all the shares repurchased shall be cancelled. The move reflects the Group’s commitment to enhancing investors’ confidence in long-term investment. In 2024, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings was newly added in a multiple of indexes for dividends, such as the CSI Dividend Index, SSE Dividend Index, reflecting the capital market's recognition of its sustainable returns.

Looking ahead, the conditions in container shipping industry will remain complex and volatile. On the one hand, greater geopolitical impact, uncertainty in the Red Sea, stronger trade tariff policies will bring profound changes in global cargo flow patterns. On the other hand, the resilient global economy, the rise of emerging markets and regional economic integration will create new opportunities for container shipping market.

Against this backdrop, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings will emphasize the approach to meeting global customers’ needs. Guided by its positioning as “a global digital supply chain operation and investment platform with a primary focus on container shipping”, the Company will take a more forward-looking and systematic approach to accelerating global and scale development. It will also expedite the development of digital intelligence and the transformation towards low-carbon and green development. By creating the certainty through high-quality development to ride out uncertainties, it strives to provide better service for customers and create greater value for shareholders.