Net profit at state-owned conglomerate China Cosco Shipping’s container and specialised shipping units fell sharply in 2018 from the previous year due to higher bunker costs, according to preliminary results.

Cosco Shipping Holdings, which controls Cosco’s container shipping and port operations, expects its net profit to have fallen by CNY 1.46bn ($218m) last year from the 2017 level of CNY 2.66bn.