[SINGAPORE] Asia-Pacific’s largest physical jet fuel buyer China Aviation Oil (CAO) posted a net profit of US$50 million for the first half of its financial year ended Jun 30. This was an 18 per cent year-on-year increase from US$42.4 million.
The growth was attributed to increases in gross profit and share of results from associates, the Singapore Exchange-listed group said on Thursday (Aug 14).
Earnings per share jumped 18.1 per cent to US$0.0582 from US$0.0493 previously for the company, which is a key supplier of imported jet fuel to China.
CAO attributed the rise in business volume to higher trading volume of crude and fuel oil. The increase in jet fuel supply volume and optimisation gains from trading activities thus led to a jump in revenue and gross profits.
Gross profit was US$30.4 million, a 25.7 per cent increase from US$24.2 million recorded in the same period the previous year.
Revenue rose 13.6 per cent to US$8.6 billion, from US$7.5 billion in the first half of 2024, underscored by a “strong uptick” in demand. Total supply and trading volume went up 35.4 per cent to 13.8 million tonnes in H1 from 10.2 million tonnes previously.
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The share of results from CAO’s associates rose 18.6 per cent to US$27.4 million. This was largely down to higher refuelling volumes from the sole supplier of jet fuel at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (leading to a 13.9 per cent increase in contributions to US$25.5 million), and higher contributions from petroleum complex logistics terminal company Oilhub Korea Yeosu.
The volume for middle distillates for H1 grew 18.7 per cent to 7.4 million tonnes from 6.2 million tonnes, while the trading volume of other oil products rose to 6.4 million tonnes, from 4 million tonnes in the same period in the previous year. This was due to higher trading volumes for fuel and crude oils.
CAO also stated that it has zero net-interest-bearing debt.
Outlook
CAO chief executive Lin Yi said his company is “cautiously optimistic” about its medium-term outlook.
The company pointed out the International Air Transport Association forecast that the total operating profits for the global civil aviation industry are set to grow 6.6 per cent to US$66 billion this year.
It added that relaxed visa requirements across countries in the Asia-Pacific mean that the region is expected to account for 52 per cent of the global aviation industry’s revenue passenger kilometre increase.
China is set to be a “significant contributor”, accounting for more than 40 per cent of the region’s aviation traffic, said CAO.
“CAO remains confident about the aviation industry’s trajectory amidst a dynamic global landscape,” said Lin, referring to the geopolitical instability, trade tensions and supply-chain disruptions seen in the first half of the year.
He added: “Supported by healthy recovery in the global aviation industry, rising demand across our key markets, and new opportunities posed by the low-carbon business, CAO is well-positioned to benefit from these opportunities.”
CAO executive chairman Shi Yanliang stated that the company is also “committed to” its development goals in the sustainable aviation fuel business, alongside business innovation and strengthened risk management.
At the mid-day break on Thursday, shares of CAO were flat at S$1.23 compared with its closing price the previous day.
