SINGAPORE - Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust) has posted a steep 69.9 per cent drop in first-quarter earnings.

Net profit for the three months ended Mar 31 came in at HK$166.9 million (S$232.9 million), well down from the HK$554.9 million in the same period a year earlier.

Excluding a one-off rent and rates refund, however, net profit would be 15.7 per cent lower than that of last year, said the manager of the container port business trust in a statement on Monday. Revenue shrank 6.8 per cent to HK$2.58 billion.

Earnings per unit came in at 1.92 HK cents, well down from the 6.37 HK cents previously. Net asset value per unit stood at HK$4.59 as at Mar 31, slightly lower than the HK$4.74 as at Dec 31 last year.

Units of HPH Trust closed half a US cent or 1.2 up at 41 US cents on Monday, before the results were announced.