Yangzijiang's Q2 net profit up 38% to 994.9m yuan

SHIPBUILDER Yangzijiang announced a net profit of 994.9 million yuan (S$198.8 million) for its second quarter, up 38 per cent from a year ago.

Revenue more than doubled to 7.96 billion yuan from 3.79 billion yuan previously, mainly due to progressive construction and delivery of more larger-sized vessels in Q2, as well as shipping revenue contribution from its newly acquired 60 per cent-owned subsidiary, Jiangsu Huayuan Logistics Co and its wholly own subsidiary, Shanghai Huayuan Shipping Co.

Earnings per share stood at 25.08 RMB cents for the quarter, up from 18.79 RMB cents a year ago.

No dividend was declared for the quarter.

In a filing to the Singapore Exchange, the group said: "Despite studies that suggest limited impact of the protectionism and trade wars on the global trade volume, the group is mindful of the uncertainties and the potential risks to the shipping and shipbuilding demand. However, the group's existing order book has no exposure to the sectors on the US' tariff list, and the group doesn't see the tariff list directly impacting its future order flow."

Overall, the group remains cautiously optimistic on the outlook for the shipbuilding industry, it said.

"To achieve sustainable growth, the group will further upgrade its product portfolio, especially through improving the technological content and efficiencies of large-size containerships and dry bulkers. It will push forward the R&D and innovation in clean energy vessels, and gradually build up the capabilities in building LNG and LPG related vessels," said Yangzijiang.