Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shares surge 8% on record first-half earnings

SINGAPORE – Shares of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared on Aug 7, after the mainboard-listed company posted a record net profit for the first half of 2025.

The stock rallied as much as 11 per cent to $2.92 after its results announcement, before closing up 8 per cent, or 21 cents, at $2.84. A hefty 84.8 million shares changed hands.

Yangzijiang saw a 36.7 per cent jump in net profit to 4.18 billion yuan (S$747.2 million) for the six months ended June 30, from 3.06 billion yuan in the year-ago period.

This was despite a 1.3 per cent dip in first-half revenue to 12.88 billion yuan, the company reported before the market opened on Aug 7.

The decline in revenue was mainly due to lower contributions from the shipbuilding segment, as the group had begun constructing oil tankers, which it said “carry a lower average unit price than container ships”.

Revenue from the shipping segment fell 15.4 per cent year on year to 511.4 million yuan, following a drop in charter rates.

But revenue from its other businesses – including trading, ship design services and investment properties – climbed 153.2 per cent year on year to 117.1 million yuan in the first half of fiscal year 2025.

Contributions from Yangzijiang’s associated companies and joint ventures rose 79 per cent year on year to 481.4 million yuan.

This included 320 million yuan from Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding, and 160 million yuan from Tsuneishi Zhoushan, in which the group completed a capital injection for a 34 per cent stake in the first quarter of 2025.

No interim dividend was proposed, similar to the year-ago period.

Looking ahead, the company said the shipbuilding industry faces macroeconomic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions in the near term. Global shipbuilding contracted 54 per cent year on year in the first half of 2025, primarily due to growing concerns over the impact of US tariffs on global trade volumes.

Additionally, proposed US port fees have prompted shipowners to seek alternatives, although limited capacity outside China remains a constraint, the Chinese shipbuilder said.

Yangzijiang, however, remains “cautiously optimistic” given its outstanding order book.

During the first half-year, the group secured contracts amounting to US$537.2 million (S$690 million) for 14 vessels, with about 85 per cent for container ships. This raised the group’s total outstanding order book to US$23.2 billion for delivery in 2029 and beyond.

It expects improved market sentiment and clearer tariff progression in the second half of 2025 to support new orders, and is confident of filling its remaining delivery slots for 2028 and 2029, which largely comprise small to mid-sized vessels.