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CK Hutchison says ‘forced termination’ of Panama ports cut 1% off throughput

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has revealed the “forced termination” of operations at two strategic Panama Canal ports shaved 1 per cent off overall throughput…

By Samantha Johnson / August 13, 2026
Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has revealed the “forced termination” of operations at two strategic Panama Canal ports shaved 1 per cent off overall throughput in the first half of this year, even as the overall port portfolio performed better than a year ago.

In its half-year financial results released on Thursday, the Li Ka-shing family-backed conglomerate for the first time quantified the impact of losing the ports after the Panama government nullified an operating contract and then took over the assets in late February.

The conglomerate’s net profit from recurring operations grew by 7 per cent to HK$12.58 billion in the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2025.

Including a one-off gain of HK$14.22 billion largely from selling telecom assets, the net profit skyrocketed to HK$26.80 billion in the first half of 2026 from HK$852 million a year ago.

Overall throughput fell by 1 per cent year on year to 43.6 million TEUs, or twenty-foot equivalent units, in the six-month period, compared with 44 million TEUs in the first half of 2025.

“An 8 per cent growth in storage income mainly contributed by Oman and Pakistan was fully offset by a 1 per cent reduction in overall throughput as a result of reduced volume from Panama operations following their forced termination in late February 2026,” it said in a statement.

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