"We have no plan to spin off the dry bulk business now," chairman Li Shao- de said in Hong Kong Wednesday. "We will focus more on our core business." The company said last July it was considering such a spin-off.

Many large shareholders, which include fund managers holding its China- listed A shares, opposed the spin-off on concern their holdings would be diluted, analysts said.

"They had a lot of opposition from A-share fund managers who were not receptive to the spin-off plan," said a Europe-based security analyst.

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China Shipping said net profit rose 46 percent to 2.69 billion yuan (HK$2.6 billion). Sales from oil shipments rose 25 percent to 4.6 billion yuan and from coal shipments surged 47 percent to 2.99 billion yuan.

The Hong Kong- and Shanghai- listed firm, which owns 79 tankers and 92 bulk ships, plans to boost capacity by 13 percent this year to meet China's growing energy demands. It plans to order four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from Dalian New Ship Heavy Industry, with more coming from another shipbuilder. The total value of the orders is estimated at six billion yuan, chief financial officer Wang Kangtian said.

The company will operate 10 to 12 very large crude carriers by 2010 from two in 2005, Li said.

Seven new tankers, with a total capacity of 686,000 tonnes, came into operation in 2005, while three new tankers totaling 192,000 tonnes will be delivered this year.

The volume of crude oil imported by China rose 3.3 percent to 126.8 million tons last year, and may increase to 130 million tons in 2006, Li said.

The company has signed more than 90 percent of this year's coal contracts, with an average freight rate about 3.35 percent lower than last year, the company said. China Shipping announced a final dividend of 0.3 yuan per share, compared with 0.15 yuan per share a year earlier.

Daiwa Security analyst Rachel Tsang said that although the final dividend was below her expectations, the lower-than-expected fall in the contract freight rate for domestic coal transportation this year was a positive surprise.