CK Hutchison's cargo traffic and port earnings have been hit by a halt to operations in Panama, it said after posting half-year results, adding that little progress had been made on a $23 billion sale of most of its ports business.

The conglomerate owned by Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, has been caught in a diplomatic tussle since U.S. President Donald Trump objected to Chinese ownership of ports along the Panama Canal, followed by Panama's cancellation of its port concessions in the country.

CK Hutchison's ports division reported a 1% drop in throughput, but earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 4% to HK$9 billion ($1.15 billion) despite the HK$496 million hit from Panama.

Its Panama Ports Company (PPC) business is pursuing more than $2 billion in damages from Panama through arbitration after it was removed from its operations of nearly three decades at the two ports near the Panama Canal.

The legal fight has complicated the group's plan to sell dozens of ports worldwide, including the Panamanian terminals, to a consortium including BlackRock, Mediterranean Shipping Company and another strategic investor that sources identified as China's COSCO.

When asked about progress on the deal that was first announced in March 2025, Group Finance Director Frank Sixt told an earnings conference "there's absolutely nothing to report from a transaction point of view".

CK Hutchison posted a 6.7% rise in the group's underlying profit on a post-IFRS 16 basis to HK$12.6 billion ($1.61 billion) in the first half of the year, helped by its retail business.

($1 = 7.8466 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reuters)