CK Hutchison set to report earnings as Panama ports deal saga ramps up

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CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) net profit seen at HK$21.3 billion - LSEG SmartEstimate

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CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) cancels post-earnings conferences amid Beijing ports sale criticism

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Deal seen as betrayal, state media says

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Ports sale would reduce earnings contribution to 1% from 15%

By Clare Jim

HONG KONG, March 20 (Reuters) - CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) is set to release its 2024 financial results on Thursday with one of Hong Kong's most powerful conglomerates increasingly embroiled in a political row over the sale of its ports business to a BlackRock ( BLK )-led consortium.

The telecoms-to-retail conglomerate, owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing, said this month it had agreed to sell most of its global ports business, including assets near the strategically important Panama Canal, in a deal that would garner the firm more than $19 billion in cash.

Its shares initially rallied after the deal, with investors cheering the high purchase price. They had expected management would give indications at Thursday's earnings conferences about how it would reinvest the proceeds and whether it would pay a special dividend.

The company has, however, cancelled its post-earnings media and analyst conferences in a rare move following criticism over the deal from the government in Beijing.

China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office has reposted two state media commentaries depicting the deal as a betrayal of China and contrary to its national interests, fuelling speculation as to whether China could take steps to try to scupper the sale.

The deal has become highly politicised, with U.S. President Donald Trump hailing it after previously calling for the Panama Canal to be removed from what he says is Chinese control.

CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) has said the deal is "purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama Ports".

Analysts have said the deal would represent a significant strategy shift because it would leave ports contributing only about 1% of the conglomerate's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITA), down from 15%.

Even before the sale, CK Hutchison's ( CKHUF ) infrastructure and telecom businesses contributed the most to the group's profit, despite it being the world's largest privately owned port operator.

Li has been diversifying his business outside of Hong Kong and mainland China since the 1980s and now only about 12% of CK Hutchison's ( CKHUF ) revenue is from Hong Kong and China, with the remainder from Europe, the rest of Asia Pacific and Canada.

CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) is forecast to report a net profit of HK$21.3 billion ($2.74 billion), according to LSEG SmartEstimate, down from HK$23.5 billion a year ago.

The ports deal is not yet final as the agreement is for negotiations on an exclusive basis for 145 days.

If it materialises, ratings agency Fitch expects CK Hutchison's ( CKHUF ) revenue, EBITDA levels and margins will decrease slightly, but said its business lines and geographic contributions will remain well-diversified. ($1 = 7.7702 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Lincoln Feast.)