On the evening of 30 August, COSCO SHIPPING Development (601866.SH/02866.HK) disclosed the 2022 interim report. According to the report, the total operating revenue of the Company in the first half of 2022 reached RMB13.21 billion, and the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was RMB2.69 billion, representing an increase of 11.1% as compared with the interim results of 2021. The Company realized basic earnings per share of RMB0.1991.
In the first half of 2022, as the continuous spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts had a continued impact on the global economy, fluctuation incurred in the shipping market. In the face of the complicated environment, COSCO SHIPPING Development strictly assessed the market and adhered to the principal business of shipping logistics to further deepen the integration of industry and finance, integrate core competitive advantages to actively respond to the market and continuously promote the high-quality development of the Company.
The Shipping Leasing Segment Deepened In-house Synergy for Committing to Improve the Asset Efficiency
The Company recorded operating revenue from the shipping leasing business of RMB3.98 billion for the first half of 2022. Revenue from the vessel leasing business amounted to RMB1.17 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 21.8%. The Company strengthened the synergy between leasing and manufacturing, leasing and trading, and leasing and shipping and continuously optimized the business model of industry-finance integration for the fleet, resulting in a steady increase in revenue. Meanwhile, the Company closely monitored the market demand, actively expanded the niche segment of ship leasing business to promote leasing projects of LNG vessels, roll-on/roll-off vessels and electric container vessels, actively built the synergy in the container industry chain and steadily expanded its business to external market.
Revenue from container leasing business amounted to RMB2.81 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 56.9%. In the first half of the year, the Company deeply explored the ability to create value of its complete container industry chain and further increased efforts on the trade of second-hand containers to fully improve the asset efficiency. At the same time, the quality and efficiency were significantly improved by virtue of effectively aggregating logistic information, optimizing customer experience and promoting the popularity of trade platform through its digital business.
The Container Manufacturing Segment Cultivated Brand Value, and Technological Innovation Empowered Intelligent Development
In respect of the container manufacturing business, an operating revenue of RMB12.80 billion was achieved. In the first half of 2022, the overall market demand has slowed down due to factors such as the increasing global inflation and the repositioned containers. Focusing on cultivating brand value, the Company has been deeply developing advantage of its container industry chain and expanding end markets; Meanwhile, it has been accelerating the integration of technology resources and taking multiple efforts to develop green intelligence to continuously enhance its market competitiveness. In the first half of the year, the Company actively developed a variety of new special containers such as anti-virus containers, energy storage tanks for ships and new energy reefer container, which effectively improved the level of low-carbon intelligence and led the healthy and sustainable development of the industry.
Deep Integration of Industry and Finance in Investment Management Segment to Promote the Upgrading of the Shipping Logistics Industry
In terms of the investment management business, the Company gives equal weight to strategic value and financial returns, adheres to the principal business of shipping logistics and aims at integration of industry and finance, and makes full use of capital and provides capital injection services for the "digitalised, intelligent and carbon neutrality" development of the shipping logistics industry, in an effort to boost industry upgrading.
Implementing the Dual-Carbon Strategy to Promote Digital Transformation
The Company actively implemented the dual-carbon strategy and made every effort to promote the electric container vessel project to create a green and intelligent shipping model. On 18 March 2022, the Company completed the signing of the vessel building agreement and the vessel leasing agreement for two electric container vessels, each with a capacity of 700 TEU, promoting the zero-carbon green transformation of Yangtze River shipping. At the same time, focusing on the electric container vessel industry chain, the Company is committed to the research and development and manufacturing of marine box-type power batteries, aiming to realize the coordinated development of the industry chain, jointly promote the technological innovation and industrialization of electric container vessels, and contribute to the zero-carbon green development.
The Company focuses on promoting technological innovation and digital transformation, and deeply integrates digital technologies such as cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence with its business. In the first half of the year, the Company successfully launched the container trading platform and iFlorens, the digital operation platform, which effectively improved the operational efficiency and customer experience of the container leasing business. In the container manufacturing business, Shanghai Universal made new breakthroughs in its patented technologies, and the number of patent applications in the first half of the year increased by more than 100% year-on-year. The number of patents granted increased by more than 50% year -on-year, with a total of nearly 400 valid intellectual property rights now.
Promoting an Active and Stable Dividend Plan to Share the Company's Development Achievements
The Company is dedicated to safeguarding the interests of the majority of investors and promoting its sustainable development. It has paid cash dividends for four consecutive years and the proportion of dividends has been increased year by year. In August 2022, the Company completed the dividend distribution to A share and H share investors for 2021 by distributing a total cash dividend of approximately RMB3.06 billion to all shareholders, which was highly affirmed by the capital market.
Exploring the Integration of Industry and Finance to Pursue High-quality Development
In the second half of 2022, the increasingly complicated and serious international economic and political situation and many challenges still facing the global economy further exerted influence on the shipping market. With the increasing demand for digitalization, low-carbon green and intelligent development of the shipping logistics industry, the Company faces both challenges and opportunities.
In the process of developing a new balanced supply chain, the Company will continue to focus on the principal business of shipping logistics to stabilize its operation, discover potentials and improve efficiency. The vessel leasing business will further optimize the business model of integration of industry and finance, deepen the market segmentation, innovate service products, and further promote the green shipping strategy. The container leasing business will further improve the global network layout, strengthen the synergy between leasing and manufacturing, and form an internal synergy with the container manufacturing business, and continue to enhance the value creation ability. In respect of the container manufacturing business, the Company strengthened the assessment of industry trends, implemented strategic layout, refined the types of intelligent manufacturing inputs to meet diversified market demands, and further explored the application of environmental protection and energy-saving technologies in the field of container manufacturing. In respect of investment management business, the Company further connected the industry and finance to enhance the synergies of the industry chain, promote industrial upgrading, and achieve two-way empowerment.
Looking forward to the future, COSCO SHIPPING Development will continue to move forward bravely towards the goal of the goal of development and value creation, give full play to the advantages of synergistic development of industry and finance, fulfill its responsibilities and missions in stabilizing growth and promoting development, and strive to be an excellent shipping industry and finance operator with COSCO SHIPPING characteristics.
