HONG KONG—Hutchison Whampoa, billionaire Li Ka-shing’s ports-to-telecoms flagship, posted a forecast-lagging 50 percent rise in second-half earnings despite a strong performance at its Canadian Husky Energy unit and lower losses on 3G, and faces a tough 2008.

"Looking ahead to 2008, the US economy is likely to continue to be adversely affected by the continuing impact of the subprime credit crisis, the continuing slump in housing markets and resulting recessionary pressures in the United States," Li, who is the chairman of Hutchison, said in a statement.

The group’s third-generation (3G) mobile telecoms business, long a money loser, could turn in its first operating profit in 2008, analysts said. But the struggling division is likely to remain a drag on Hutchison’s share performance over the longer term, they said.

Hutchison, the world’s largest container ports operator with large investments in retail, energy and property, said its 3G loss before interest and taxes (LBIT) narrowed to HK$6.62 billion ($850.9 million) in the six months ended in December from HK$11.32 billion in the first half of 2007.

Li said the 3 Group reported positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) — after deducting all customer acquisition costs — of HK$2.8 billion for the second half of the year, and EBITDA of HK$1.2 billion for the full year.

The firm, whose 3G services has run at a loss since it was launched in Britain in 2003, underperformed sister company and property developer Cheung Kong (Holdings), which posted a 56 percent jump in the second-half earnings.

The firms are the twin flagships of the bespectacled, septuagenarian Li’s multi-billion dollar empire.

Cheung Kong, which holds nearly 50 percent of Hutchison, posted a net profit of HK$9.14 billion in the six months to Dec. 31, based on a calculation from first-half and full-year figures, on the back of higher property sales, stronger investment gains and contributions from Hutchison.

The results, which compared with a profit of HK$5.86 billion in the same period in 2006, beat the consensus forecast of HK$7.32 billion according to 11 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates. For the whole of 2007, Cheung Kong earned HK$27.68 billion, up 53 percent from HK$18.08 billion in 2006 and was higher than the consensus forecast of HK$25.86 billion.

A slowing global economy and looming US recession could put a lid on Hong Kong property prices in the short term, as underscored by slowing property sales in the first quarter of 2008. But Cheung Kong’s vast land bank spanning Hong Kong and China should help to offset that, analysts said.

Hutchison reported a net profit of HK$1.84 billion in the second half of 2007 compared with HK$1.23 billion a year ago. The results were lower than the average analyst forecast of HK$3.15 billion polled by Reuters Estimates.

It made a net profit of HK$30.6 billion for the full year in 2007, up 53 percent from HK$20.03 billion a year ago and slightly lagging the average forecast of HK$31.91 billion. —Reuters