Shanghai International Port Group announced a fall in net profit of 9.52 per cent year-on-year to Rmb1.18bn in the third quarter of 2011. China’s largest port operator said it was affected by increases in both depreciation and financial cost resulting from its acquisitions of the second and third phases of Yangshan deepwater terminal.

The port operator recorded Rmb16.14bn in revenue in the first nine months, 14.7 per cent more than in the same period of last year.

In addition to its interests in Shanghai, SIPG has recently been investing heavily in fast-growing ports in all sections of the Yangtze River. In the middle reaches, it has taken controlling stakes in the largest port operators in Wuhan and Jiujiang, while in the lower reaches it has strategic alliances with Nanjing and Taicang ports. In Chongqing, it is building a new container terminal as a majority shareholder.