Chinanews.com, Shanghai News, April 30 (Li Shuzheng) On April 29, Fujian Air China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Air China COSCO") announced that its performance ushered in a "good start", and its net profit in the first quarter of this year turned losses into profits, a year-on-year increase of 203%. Air China COSCO has laid out the construction of green and new energy ships, implemented the green and low-carbon transformation strategy, and looked for new growth points for performance.
Since its listing, Air China COSCO has rewarded investors with practical actions and real money, boosting market confidence. In August last year, Air China COSCO was included in the Beijing Stock Exchange 50 Index, which became the key direction of public fund allocation. In order to boost market confidence, the company repurchased 5.36 million shares of the company with its own funds of 20.24 million yuan. In terms of returning investors, it is also very practical, and in 2023, a total of 55.54 million yuan in cash dividends will be distributed.
Q1 net profit increased sharply and "turned losses into profits"
In the first quarter of this year, Air China's COSCO revenue increased by 16.4% year-on-year to RMB222.97 million, and its net profit attributable to the parent company increased by 203.12% year-on-year to RMB15.95 million.
"The company mainly focuses on Panamax and handysize cargo ships, both domestic and foreign trade, foreign trade is more profitable than domestic trade, and the increase in the proportion of foreign trade helps the company's profitability improve. "Air China COSCO has been flexible in response to market changes, and by optimizing resource allocation, the proportion of foreign trade shipping revenue has increased by 7.56%.
Specifically, from 2019 to 2023, the company's domestic trade transportation business revenue accounted for 59.35%, 57.92%, 59.80%, 50.74% and 42.17% of the main business income, respectively. The proportion of foreign trade transportation business income to the main business income was 40.65%, 42.08%, 40.20%, 49.26% and 57.83% respectively, and the proportion of foreign trade income increased year by year.
From the fundamental analysis of supply and demand, the overall dry bulk transportation market price will have a good support. The agency predicts that from 2024 to 2025, with the further tightening of the shipping decarbonization policy and the new round of ship replacement cycle, the tight supply of ships cannot be changed in the short term, and the price of new ships will further rise. For 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report shows that the global economic growth is expected to be 2.9% in 2023 and is expected to rise to 3.1% in 2024. Air China COSCO said that it will actively deploy domestic and foreign trade routes according to the domestic and foreign trade shipping market conditions to improve the company's profitability.
Green transformation to find growth points
Green energy saving, low-carbon emission reduction has become the environmental protection consensus of all countries around the world.
As a "Demonstration Enterprise for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction in Transportation" and a "Demonstration Unit for Green Ships", Air China COSCO has been committed to playing the role of a private shipowner in the green transformation of the shipping industry and promoting sustainable development and environmental protection. In 2023, the company will start a critical year for the transformation of its green and low-carbon strategy, starting the construction of "12+4" green and low-carbon ships with a planned additional capacity of nearly 1.3 million deadweight tons, and the innovative "methanol dual-fuel" ships have been certified by BV Classification Society and CCS and won utility model patents again, and the annual ship operation rate will reach 99%, demonstrating the ability of efficient operation.
In order to actively respond to the decarbonization goal of global shipping and implement the green and low-carbon transformation and development strategy, Air China COSCO has made a forward-looking layout to build green new energy ships. With the company's first green and energy-saving new ship put into operation in April 2024, the new ships will be delivered in 2024-2025, which will usher in a good growth in the company's revenue and net profit.
Air China COSCO believes that the current shipbuilding market orders are relatively saturated, various types of new shipbuilding orders have been scheduled to around 2027, slipway supply exceeds demand, with the global carbon emission requirements and the "3060" carbon peak and carbon neutrality goal driven, there will be more ship renewal demand, the new shipbuilding market may continue to be hot.
As part of its commitment to sustainable development, Air China COSCO disclosed the first sustainability (ESG) report for the transportation industry on the Beijing Stock Exchange this year. Regard social responsibility as a core value and are committed to promoting the sustainable development of the industry. By adopting environmental protection measures, social responsibility projects and employee incentives, we make a positive contribution to society and achieve coordinated development of economy, environment and society.
Real money completes share buyback
After its listing on the Beijing Stock Exchange, Air China COSCO rewarded investors with practical actions and real money, boosting market confidence. The company's 2022 annual equity distribution plan was deliberated and approved by the general meeting of shareholders in May last year, and the dividend will be 55.5407 million yuan in 2023. On August 25 last year, Air China COSCO was successfully included in the constituent stocks of the Beijing Stock Exchange 50 Index, fully reflecting the fundamental advantages of the company's growth. While bringing more incremental funds to the market, Air China COSCO has also become a key direction for public fund allocation.
In the face of the uncertainty and volatility of the capital market, based on the confidence in the company's sustainable and stable development in the future and the recognition of the company's value, the management increased its holdings, and the company repurchased shares with its own funds, which will be used for equity incentives or the implementation of employee stock ownership plans to enhance the overall value of the company.
From June 30, 2023 to December 29, 2023, the actual repurchase amount of Air China COSCO accounted for 67.45% of the upper limit of the proposed repurchase amount, which exceeded the lower limit of the repurchase scale disclosed in the repurchase plan. The company repurchased 5.36 million shares of the company through continuous bidding, accounting for 0.97% of the company's total share capital, the highest transaction price of the repurchase was 6.092 yuan/share, the lowest transaction price was 3.34 yuan/share, and the total amount paid was 20.24 million yuan (excluding stamp duty, commission and other transaction costs)
Air China COSCO said that it will continue to improve its corporate governance system, strengthen its risk management capabilities, and continue to improve its sound operation and management. In 2023, the Company held a total of 7 meetings of the General Meeting of Shareholders, 13 meetings of the Board of Directors, and 9 meetings of the Board of Supervisors. The rights and responsibilities of the company's three committees, management, independent directors and other institutions and personnel are clear, and they can operate in accordance with relevant governance documents and internal control system specifications.
In addition, the company attaches great importance to interaction with investors. In terms of investor communication, the company held 2 performance briefings in 2023, received 18 institutional investor surveys, and a total of more than 60 investment institutions participated in the research activities. Through Air China's COSCO Investor Relations website, official WeChat, email and phone calls, we will actively respond to investors' concerns and expectations, and share disclosed information in a timely manner. (ENDS)
Editor: Li Shuzheng