Apr. 27, 2012 (China Knowledge) - China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd<601919><1919>, the largest shipping company in the country, suffered RMB 2.7 billion or US$428.2 million in net loss in the first quarter of this year, compared with a net loss of RMB 501.8 million from a year earlier.

The deepened loss was principally dragged down by slumped dry-bulk shipping business amid a slowdown in the global shipping industry, said the shipping firm.

Revenue for the three months ended Mar. 31, 2012 fell 4.6% year on year from RMB 16.45 billion to RMB 15.69 billion.

The company's dry-bulk unit, which carries commodities including coal, grain and iron ore, saw shipping volume fell 15% from a year earlier to 55.6 million metric tons. The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities such as grain and iron ore, hit a record low of 647 in February 2012.

The dry-bulk capacity is expected to increase by 11% this year, higher than an expected 4% rise in demand, said China COSCO, adding that it had orders 20 dry-bulk cargo vessels totaling 1.9 million deadweight tons at the end of last month.