JET fuel buyer China Aviation Oil (CAO) posted a net profit of US$42.4 million for the first half ended Jun 30, a 114.8 per cent year-on-year leap from US$19.7 million previously.
This was attributed to increases in gross profit and share of results from associates, the group said on Wednesday (Aug 14), adding that these were partially offset by higher expenses.
Gross profit was US$24.2 million, more than double the US$10.6 million recorded in the same period the previous year.
Revenue rose 20.1 per cent to US$7.5 billion, from US$6.3 billion in H1 FY2023, due to oil price and business volume increases.
The group’s earnings per share for the six months stood at US$0.0493, compared with US$0.0229 previously.
Total supply and trading volume increased by 7.5 per cent to 10.2 million tonnes, from 9.5 million tonnes in the year-ago period.
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The volume for middle distillates in H1 FY2024 grew 58.7 per cent to 6.2 million tonnes from 3.9 million tonnes, while the trading volume of other oil products fell to four million tonnes, from 5.5 million tonnes in the year-ago period. This was due to lower trading volumes for fuel and crude oils.
The group noted that its strong performance reflected the “continued robust recovery” in global air travel, citing a report that showed total air passenger traffic in 2024 had surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
The Asia-Pacific region is also set to be a significant growth driver for air passenger traffic, with China a a “key catalyst” for this development, said CAO.
Lin Yi, CAO chief executive, said: “The resurgence in global air travel demand, particularly in China, will continue to bolster the goup’s core jet fuel business and augurs well for the group business outlook.”
Shi Yanliang, executive chairman of CAO, added: “Transformative trends in the aviation industry, such as promoting the uptake of sustainable aviation fuels, offer promising prospects for the group as we move towards a more sustainable future.”
Shares of CAO fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.88 on Wednesday, before the announcement.
