State-owned China Cosco has reversed to the red in the third quarter ended 30 September 2015 due mainly to the sluggish container and dry bulk shipping businesses.

Net loss for the quarter was recorded at RMB1.71bn ($269m) as against a profit of RMB1.62bn in the same period of last year.

The third quarter revenue declined to RMB14.1bn compared to RMB17.5bn in the previous corresponding period.

China Cosco announced that its container shipping volume registered 2.49m teu during the third quarter, representing a 0.5% decrease compared to the year-ago period. The dry bulk shipping business amounted to 38.8m tonnes, a 7.4% decrease year-on-year.

As at 30 September 2015, China Cosco operated a fleet of 183 containerships and 213 bulk carriers. The group has 10 orders for containerships and 40 orders for bulkers.