Singapore-listed Yangzijiang Shipbuilding secured 11 shipbuilding orders so far in the second half of 2019 as new order momentum picked up in recent months.
Further to the 5 new orders that the group signed in the first half of 2019 amid an overall weak market, the second half started out better with a further 11 orders worth a total of USD 487 million.
The units contracted in the second half of the year include three 82,000 dwt bulk carriers, four 31,800 dwt Great Lakes bulk carriers and another four 325,000 dwt bulkers.
This brings the group’s 2019 orderbook to 16 vessels with total contract value of USD 696 million, considerably less compared to the 36 shipbuilding orders, worth USD 1.46 billion, reported in the same period in 2018.
As at November 13, 2019, with an outstanding order book of USD 3.18 billion for 83 vessels, Yangzijiang was ranked number one in China and number five in the world.
The shipbuilder said that the orders would keep its yard facilities “at a healthy utilization rate up to 2021 and provide a stable revenue stream for at least the next 1.5 years.”
For the third quarter, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding’s net profit dropped by 10 percent year-on-year to CNY 702.3 million (USD 100 million) from CNY 778.6 million (USD 110.9 million) amid an overall weak market.
Revenue in the three months ended September 30 was 5.42 billion yuan, up just 1 per cent, as Yangzijiang delivered 13 vessels in Q3, versus six vessels for the same period a year ago.
Global new shipbuilding orders declined by 44% in DWT terms in the first nine months in 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. The decline was primarily due to the uncertainties related to global trade, weak global economic outlook and shipowners taking time to firm up their plans to cope with the IMO 2020 rules on emission, the shipbuilder explained.