Guohang Ocean’s H1 Profit Jumps to 4.47 Times Its Full-Year 2025 Earnings

Revenue reached RMB 641 million in the first half of 2026, while net profit surged to RMB 124 million. Second-quarter profit alone approached RMB 95 million, as stronger dry bulk markets, new vessel deliveries and fleet expansion began to translate into sharply improved earnings.

Guohang Ocean Shipping is beginning to see the financial payoff from its latest round of fleet expansion.

Fujian Guohang Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., Ltd., listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange under ticker 920571, reported a significant improvement in its financial performance for the first half of 2026.

For the six months ended June 30, the company recorded revenue of RMB 641.0 million, up 47.19% year on year.

Net profit attributable to shareholders reached RMB 124.0 million, compared with a loss of RMB 24.61 million in the same period last year.

Net profit excluding non-recurring items came in at RMB 106.1 million, reversing a loss of RMB 38.52 million a year earlier.

The company’s overall gross margin jumped from 18.87% to 36.13%, while weighted average return on equity rose to 8.93%.

The scale of the improvement becomes even clearer when compared with Guohang Ocean’s full-year 2025 results.

Last year, the company generated revenue of approximately RMB 997 million and net profit of RMB 27.71 million.

In other words, Guohang Ocean earned around 4.47 times its entire 2025 net profit in just the first six months of 2026.

Its profitability has also improved steadily over the past few years.

The company’s gross margin stood at 11.35% in 2023, rose to 20.34% in 2024 and 23.22% in 2025, before climbing further to 36.13% in the first half of this year.

The most striking acceleration came in the second quarter.

Q2 profit approaches RMB 95 million

Based on Guohang Ocean’s first-quarter and half-year financial disclosures, the company generated approximately RMB 403 million in revenue in the second quarter alone, an increase of roughly 70.4% year on year.

Second-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders was approximately RMB 94.7 million, compared with a loss of around RMB 9.18 million in the same quarter of 2025.

Adjusted net profit for the quarter reached approximately RMB 89.6 million, versus a loss of about RMB 16.85 million a year earlier.

That means Q2 alone contributed around 76.4% of Guohang Ocean’s total first-half net profit.

Based on the reported revenue and cost figures, the company’s implied gross margin for the second quarter was approximately 40.1%, while its net profit margin reached roughly 23.5%.

The quarterly progression is significant.

In the first quarter of 2026, Guohang Ocean generated revenue of RMB 238 million and net profit of RMB 29.27 million.

By the second quarter, revenue had increased to more than RMB 400 million while net profit more than tripled to nearly RMB 95 million.

Stronger freight rates, additional operating capacity and newly delivered vessels are increasingly working together to create greater earnings leverage.

Shipping remains the core earnings engine

One of the most important features of the half-year report is that the improvement was overwhelmingly driven by Guohang Ocean’s core shipping business.

Shipping operations generated RMB 620.8 million in revenue, up 48.67% year on year, accounting for 96.85% of total group revenue.

Shipping also generated approximately RMB 229.8 million in gross profit, equivalent to 99.21% of the company’s total gross profit.

The gross margin of the shipping business reached 37.01%, an increase of 17.90 percentage points from the same period last year.

The fact that adjusted net profit exceeded RMB 106 million also shows that the earnings rebound was primarily operational rather than dependent on one-off gains.

Guohang Ocean attributed the improvement to several factors: stronger domestic and international dry bulk freight markets, the addition of Capesize capacity, the deployment of two newly built vessels, and the conversion of three vessels from bareboat charter arrangements to finance leases, effectively increasing the fleet under its ownership and control.

The broader dry bulk market provided strong support.

According to data cited by the company, the Baltic Dry Index averaged 2,346.94 points in the first half of 2026, up 83.64% year on year.

The Baltic Capesize Index, Baltic Panamax Index and Baltic Supramax Index increased by 93.30%, 62.99% and 51.53%, respectively.

For a company whose business remains concentrated in dry bulk shipping, that market recovery translated directly into higher vessel earnings.

At the same time, Guohang Ocean’s own fleet transformation amplified the benefits of the recovery.

Domestic and international businesses improve together

Guohang Ocean has long operated across both China’s coastal shipping market and the international dry bulk sector, allowing it to adjust vessel deployment according to market conditions.

During the first half of 2026, both businesses delivered substantial improvements.

Domestic shipping revenue reached approximately RMB 335.5 million, up 56.77% year on year.

Its gross margin climbed to 29.21%, an increase of 20.72 percentage points.

International shipping revenue reached approximately RMB 305.6 million, up 37.93%, while the segment’s gross margin surged to 43.73%, 14.82 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

The international business is particularly notable.

For full-year 2025, Guohang Ocean’s international shipping gross margin stood at approximately 31.99%.

By the first half of 2026, that figure had risen to 43.73%.

As the company expands into larger vessel classes and more international trades, overseas shipping is becoming an increasingly important contributor to earnings.

One of the most visible additions to the fleet this year has been Guohang Ocean’s first Capesize vessel.

First Capesize marks a major fleet expansion

In February, Guohang Ocean, through its subsidiary Century Maritime Development Limited, agreed to acquire the 2012-built MICHALIS H, a roughly 180,355-dwt Capesize bulk carrier, for $35.175 million.

After completing the transaction in April, the vessel was renamed GH VISION and officially joined the fleet.

The acquisition marked Guohang Ocean’s first entry into the Capesize segment.

The company’s controlled fleet had previously been concentrated largely in smaller and mid-sized dry bulk vessels, including Handysize, Ultramax and Panamax tonnage.

The addition of GH VISION extends that coverage into the large bulker segment and gives the company greater exposure to major global iron ore and coal trades.

Timing has also worked in Guohang Ocean’s favour.

The Baltic Capesize Index averaged nearly twice the level recorded in the first half of 2025, creating a relatively supportive market environment for the company’s first Capesize investment.

Guohang Ocean itself identified the addition of Capesize capacity as one of the contributors to its stronger first-half revenue and profitability.

Two 63,500-dwt newbuildings enter service

The Capesize acquisition is only one part of Guohang Ocean’s wider fleet renewal programme.

In January and February, the company took delivery of two new 63,500-dwt Ultramax bulk carriers, GH PRIDE and GH HARVEST.

Each vessel cost approximately $32.8 million, giving the pair a combined contract value of $65.6 million.

Both ships entered commercial operation during the reporting period.

The company is also continuing construction of four 89,000-dwt bulk carriers.

Two of these vessels have been upgraded from methanol-ready designs to fully installed methanol dual-fuel configurations, with the contract price for each increasing by approximately $6.23 million to incorporate the alternative-fuel systems.

The methanol equipment is currently being installed.

Although delivery schedules for some vessels have been adjusted, construction of all four ships is continuing.

The transformation is already visible on Guohang Ocean’s balance sheet.

At the end of June, fixed assets had risen to approximately RMB 3.139 billion, up 34.79% from the end of 2025.

At the same time, construction in progress fell from approximately RMB 1.008 billion to RMB 646 million, a decline of 35.90%.

During the first half, six vessels were added to fixed assets, including GUOYUAN 26, GUOYUAN 28, GUOYUAN 32, GH VISION, GH PRIDE and GH HARVEST.

This is a particularly important development.

Capital that had previously been tied up in vessels under construction is increasingly being converted into operating assets capable of generating revenue.

That transition helps explain why Guohang Ocean’s earnings accelerated so sharply in the second quarter.

Vessel operating rate above 99%

Fleet expansion only creates value if vessels remain operational.

Guohang Ocean reported a fleet operating rate of more than 99% during the first half of 2026, with no general-level or more serious marine casualties, machinery damage incidents, fires or theft cases reported during the period.

Three vessels were recognised by maritime authorities as “Safe and Credible Vessels”, while one master received a corresponding safety recognition.

For a growing asset-heavy shipping company, utilisation is a critical earnings driver.

A fleet operating rate above 99% indicates that Guohang Ocean was able to keep nearly all of its available tonnage commercially employed during a period of stronger dry bulk markets.

The company is also continuing to invest in digital vessel management.

Its MOS digital ship-management platform is being expanded to move fleet management away from manual data collection toward more integrated, platform-based and intelligent analysis.

The GUOYUAN 703 series has already been equipped with integrated smart platforms, intelligent navigation and smart engine-room systems.

Research and development expenses increased by 331.64% year on year in the first half, albeit from a relatively small base.

This fits with Guohang Ocean’s longer-term strategy of combining greener vessels with greater digitalisation.

Operating cash flow remains strong

At first glance, operating cash flow appears weaker year on year.

Guohang Ocean generated RMB 236.4 million in net operating cash flow during the first half, down 20.30%.

However, the underlying picture is more nuanced.

Cash received from sales and services increased by approximately RMB 210 million year on year.

The decline in net operating cash flow partly reflected a high comparison base in the first half of 2025, when the company received export tax rebates and recovered shipbuilding deposits, together with changes in fuel and tax payments this year.

Operating cash flow of RMB 236 million still remained well above the RMB 124 million in reported net profit.

For a shipping company continuing to invest heavily in fleet expansion, that provides an important source of liquidity for vessel investment, debt servicing and further business development.

Assets more than double in two and a half years

Guohang Ocean’s fleet expansion has also transformed its balance sheet.

At the end of 2023, the company had total assets of approximately RMB 2.259 billion.

By June 30, 2026, that figure had climbed to RMB 4.877 billion, more than doubling in two and a half years.

Total liabilities stood at approximately RMB 3.516 billion, giving the company an asset-liability ratio of 72.09%.

This reflects the capital-intensive nature of the company’s current expansion phase.

Long-term payables stood at approximately RMB 1.333 billion at the end of June, up 52.12%, largely reflecting finance leases used to fund vessel acquisitions.

Finance costs reached RMB 62.72 million during the first half, up 29.35%.

At the same time, stronger earnings have materially improved the company’s ability to cover those financing costs.

Guohang Ocean’s interest coverage ratio increased from 1.47 times at the end of 2025 to 4.48 times in the first half of 2026.

The balance sheet therefore tells two stories at once: Guohang Ocean is carrying substantially more leverage than it did three years ago, but the new assets financed by that leverage are also beginning to generate much stronger operating earnings.

Maintaining that balance will remain important as more vessels are delivered.

International expansion gathers pace

Beyond fleet growth, Guohang Ocean is also accelerating its international expansion.

The company has continued to strengthen its shipping platform in Hong Kong and opened Guoyuan Shipping (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. in April, extending its commercial reach into Southeast Asia and Oceania.

With its first Capesize now in the fleet, Guohang Ocean is expanding simultaneously across vessels, overseas operating platforms and international customer relationships.

The strategy is consistent with the company’s latest five-year development plan.

2026 marks the beginning of Guohang Ocean’s new planning cycle, under which the company aims to build what it describes as a “first-class international dry bulk shipping enterprise driven by green and digital technologies.”

Its priorities include lower-carbon shipping, digitalisation, appropriate fleet scale, safety and operational resilience.

The company has also adjusted its organisational structure to strengthen newbuilding lifecycle management, fleet technical upgrades, research and development and compliance with international maritime regulations.

From investment phase to earnings phase

Guohang Ocean’s financial progression over the past several years now shows a clear pattern.

In 2023, the company recorded a gross margin of just 11.35% and net profit of only RMB 2.48 million, while adjusted earnings remained negative.

In 2024, gross margin improved to 20.34% as the company accelerated fleet renewal and asset investment.

In 2025, gross margin rose further to 23.22%, with full-year net profit reaching RMB 27.71 million.

By the first half of 2026, gross margin had jumped to 36.13% and net profit reached RMB 124 million.

The assets were added first.

The earnings are now beginning to follow.

Over the past two years, Guohang Ocean has been building vessels, acquiring secondhand ships, arranging financing, retiring older tonnage and investing in greener technologies.

In 2026, more of those vessels are moving from construction accounts onto the water and into commercial service.

The second quarter — with approximately RMB 403 million in revenue and nearly RMB 95 million in net profit — offers the clearest evidence yet of that transition.

Dry bulk shipping remains cyclical, and Guohang Ocean’s future profitability will continue to be influenced by commodity trade flows, freight rates, bunker prices, interest rates and fleet supply.

But compared with three years ago, the company is entering the next phase of the market with a materially different asset base: a larger fleet, a younger vessel profile, exposure to the Capesize segment, a growing pipeline of methanol-capable tonnage and an expanding overseas operating network.

RMB 641 million in first-half revenue, RMB 124 million in net profit, nearly RMB 95 million earned in Q2 alone, a 43.73% gross margin in international shipping and a fleet operating rate above 99% — taken together, these figures suggest that Guohang Ocean is moving beyond simple cyclical recovery.

The company is beginning to demonstrate the earnings leverage created by a broader, younger and increasingly international dry bulk fleet.