"On the whole, the Group's underlying operating results were relatively stable" last year despite a one-time issue related to its Vietnam telecommunications business, chairman Victor Li, son of billionaire founder Li Ka-shing, said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

CK Hutchison this month offloaded its global ports business outside China -- including operations in the canal -- to a group led by giant asset manager BlackRock for $19 billion in cash.

The parties expect to sign a "definitive agreement" by April 2 concerning the Panama Ports Company, which has operated two of the five ports at the canal since 1997 via a government concession.

The deal came after months of pressure from US President Donald Trump, who refused to rule out a military invasion of Panama to "take back" the vital waterway from alleged Chinese control.

Shares in CK Hutchison jumped more than 20 percent in Hong Kong after the announcement on March 4.

But Beijing made its displeasure known last week via two government offices overseeing Hong Kong affairs, which republished newspaper articles criticising the deal as "spineless" and "betraying and selling out all Chinese people".

Hong Kong leader John Lee also said on Tuesday that concerns about the sale "deserve serious attention", adding that the city will "handle it in accordance with the law and regulations".

CK Hutchison cancelled its post-earnings press conference on Thursday, and has not responded to multiple AFP enquiries.

hol/oho/rsc

BLACKROCK