* First-half underlying profit rises 6.7%

* Ports division throughput drops 1%, but EBITDA up 4%

By Clare Jim

HONG KONG, Aug 13 (Reuters) - CK Hutchison's ( CKHUF ) 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 ( CKHUF ) 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 ( BLK ), 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 ( CKHUF ) 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)