On the evening of August 30, COSCO SHIPPING Development (601866.SH/02866.HK) releases its half-yearly report for 2024. The report shows: the company realized operating revenue of RMB11.76 billion in the first half of 2024, net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of RMB895 million, realized basic earnings per share of RMB0.0661, and paid 2024 interim dividend of RMB0.19 per 10 shares.

In the first half of 2024, in the face of the complex and volatile market environment, COSCO SHIPPING Development continued to enhance its core functions of “production, financing and investment”, focused on deepening reform and innovation, and promoted the high-quality development of the Company with the development idea of seeking progress amidst stability and promoting stability with progress.

Deepen the synergy between production and financing, and enhance the ability of value creation

The report shows that in the first half of 2024, the company's container manufacturing business achieved operating income of RMB9.782 billion, up 172.4% year-on-year. The company actively grasps the market opportunity of gradually stabilizing and rising demand, focusing on precision marketing, to achieve a new situation of market development. The company's container sales in the first half of the year amounted to 744,400 TEU, a year-on-year increase of 302.2%. At the same time, the company digs deep into the end-user demand, strengthen scientific and technological innovation to further expand the field of energy storage containers, automobile containers, housing containers and other new special containers, in order to enhance the value-creation ability of the momentum empowered.

Revenue from container leasing business amounted to RMB2.576 billion, up 6.3% year-on-year. The Company gave full play to the unique advantages of leasing and manufacturing synergy, realized new breakthroughs in cooperation with major customers, and effectively consolidated the cooperation of mainstream shipowner customers. At the same time, the Company actively expanded diversified product leasing services and continuously improved its service efficiency, further demonstrating the competitive strength of its brand.

The shipping leasing business generated revenue of RMB1.175 billion, and the Company focused on improving the capacity of production and financing services, actively innovating the business model of production and financing synergy, focusing on the expansion of high-quality projects, and simultaneously announcing the investment in the construction and leasing transactions of 42 bulk carriers, with the total amount of shipbuilding orders exceeding RMB14.3 billion, successfully commencing the largest shipbuilding and leasing transactions since the transformation to a shipping production and financing operator, further consolidating the cornerstone of the ship leasing business, contributing long-term stable income and cash flow, and realizing win-win cooperation between the upstream and downstream of the industry chain.

Focus on scientific and technological innovation, promote the green development of digital intelligence

The company drives industrial upgrading with scientific and technological innovation, and its customization and specialization ability is continuously improved. Qidong Containers Factory, which belongs to the Company, was awarded the “Best Innovative Enterprise in China's Energy Storage Industry in the Year 2024”by China International Energy Storage Conference, and Shanghai Universal Science and Technology Co., Ltd., which belongs to the Company, passed the evaluation of Shanghai's “Specialized, Refined, Characteristic and Innovative”enterprise which further strengthened the ability of independent innovation.

The Company constructs new potential energy of development with digital intelligence, the construction of iFlorens digital operation platform of container leasing segment is in order, realizing the data link with many containers stacking yards, and the case of industry chain synergistic platform has passed the preliminary examination of “2024 National State-owned Enterprises' Science and Technology Innovation and Digital Intelligence Development Model”. Container manufacturing plate equipment intellectualization innovation is remarkable, a number of container factories won the “Sixth National Equipment Management and Technological Innovation Achievements”awards.

At the same time, the company thickly planted green low-carbon nature, the first 700TEU electric container ship was in the trial operation in the first half of the year. Container environmental product declaration platform released 13 declarations and standards; the industry influence is effectively enhanced. In addition, the Company landed the country's first financial loan for the transformation of the water transportation industry and the world's first container industry chain transformation financial project, the green financing service industry chain capacity continues to strengthen.

Improving the quality of listed companies and promoting value realization

The Company continuously improves the effectiveness of corporate governance, deeply cultivates ESG governance, optimizes the communication mechanism in the capital market, and jointly promotes the realization of value. In the first half of the year, the Company was honored with an A rating in China's national ESG evaluation and the “ESG Competitiveness Model - Dual-Carbon Pioneer”in the 2024 Golden Bee, was selected in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook (China Edition) 2024 for the second consecutive time, and was listed in the CGTN's “Yangtze River Delta ESG Pioneer 50”list, and was successfully selected as one of the constituent stocks of the first “Ocean Economy”index, demonstrating the value recognition of the capital market.

The Company attaches full importance to reasonable returns to investors, and successfully completed the 2023 dividend payout in August, with a total dividend amount of RMB430 million. The Company is actively exploring and researching implementation paths and programs to further enhance investor returns, and will pay an interim dividend of RMB0.19 per 10 shares to create greater value for shareholders while practicing sustainable development.

Looking ahead, in the face of the complex and volatile world economic and trade environment as well as the new trend and pattern of transformation and upgrading of the shipping industry, COSCO SHIPPING Development will always anchor on the goal of high-quality development, focus on the positioning of the integration of production and financing, strengthen the digital empowerment of science and technology, accumulate the energy momentum of green development, and make concerted efforts to show a new phenomenon of high-quality development.