China’s Xingtong Shipping reported a 59.1% increase in net profit attributable to shareholders for the first nine months of 2026, earning approximately US$45.9 million (RMB308.2 million) and surpassing its full-year 2025 result. Revenue rose 28.95% to US$227.2 million (RMB1.526 billion). The figures show a Chinese coastal shipping specialist recovering earnings as it builds an international chemical tanker business, with vessel sales supporting profits and a substantial newbuilding programme setting up its next phase of growth.

A domestic specialist builds an international platform

Founded in 1997 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in March 2022, Xingtong has a long operating history in China’s coastal liquid bulk trades. Its international chemical shipping business is considerably younger, having started in late 2022. By the end of 2025, the company had 10 chemical tankers dedicated to international trading, excluding vessels serving both domestic and international trades, with combined capacity of 168,800 dwt. Its renewal programme includes 25,900-dwt methanol dual-fuel stainless steel chemical tankers, with XT SEA LION and XT SEAL entering service in 2025.

Its expansion has combined fleet investment with partnerships. Acquiring a 51% stake in the business now known as XT-IMC Shipping established a partnership with Singapore’s IMC. It subsequently established Shanghai Xingtong Lianfa Shipping with Xiamen C&D Supply Chain Logistics Technology and, in 2025, obtained a 51% controlling interest in HK Xingyao Shipping, previously controlled by Xiamen Xiangyu, through a capital increase.

These ventures provide a way to combine specialist tanker operations with partners’ commercial and financial resources. Xingtong’s overseas revenue reached approximately US$106.2 million in 2025, representing 43.8% of group turnover. Overseas business has become a material contributor to group turnover.

Profit recovery extends beyond vessel sales

The nine-month result contains evidence of improving operating performance. Profit attributable to shareholders excluding non-recurring items, a measure disclosed under Chinese reporting rules, increased 28.59% to approximately US$36.4 million (RMB244.5 million). Calculations from the income statement put gross profit at about US$69.4 million, up 39.67%, while the gross margin improved to 30.56% from 28.22%. Revenue growth outpaced the increase in operating costs.

Xingtong transported 9.646 million tonnes of liquid dangerous goods during the period, up 5.40%, including 8.01 million tonnes of liquid chemicals, up 8.55%. Turnover grew much faster than tonnes carried, but the difference cannot be treated as a freight-rate increase: the figures also reflect the mix of routes, voyage distances, vessels and charter arrangements.

Asset disposals nevertheless made a significant contribution. Gains on disposals of non-current assets totalled approximately US$11.3 million. Total non-recurring earnings, after tax and minority-interest adjustments, were about US$9.5 million, equivalent to 20.7% of attributable net profit. These are different accounting measures; the disposal gain cannot be treated as an equivalent addition to profit attributable to shareholders.

The comparison period also matters. Attributable profit fell 22.95% in 2025 to approximately US$40.2 million, following US$52.2 million in 2024. The company attributed the earlier strong market partly to Red Sea rerouting and tighter available capacity, followed by softer conditions and higher costs in 2025. This year’s growth therefore combines operating improvement with recovery from a weaker base.

Strong year-on-year growth comes with quarterly fluctuations

In the third quarter alone, revenue increased 28.14% year on year to approximately US$75.5 million. Attributable net profit rose 63.74% to US$14.2 million, while profit excluding non-recurring items increased 41.11% to US$12.2 million. That contrasts with the first quarter, when attributable earnings increased but profit excluding non-recurring items fell 13.98%, and vessel sales were the main disclosed driver of profit growth.

The sequential picture was less strong. Calculations using the first-quarter, half-year and nine-month statements show third-quarter revenue falling 8.01% from the second quarter, attributable net profit declining 6.32%, and profit excluding non-recurring items dropping 19.57%. The underlying business has recovered compared with a year earlier, but earnings have not risen steadily from quarter to quarter.

International growth adds financial complexity

Overseas expansion is changing the composition of Xingtong’s earnings. In 2025, the gross margin on overseas business was 22.09%, compared with 33.91% domestically. Those figures reflect the operating conditions and business mix of that year rather than proving a permanent difference in returns. They do show that a larger international revenue contribution does not automatically lift the group margin.

Currency exposure has also become visible. Finance costs reached approximately US$10.6 million in the first nine months of 2026, an increase of about 210%. Interest expense, however, rose only 11.66% to about US$4.8 million, so higher borrowing interest alone does not explain the increase.

The half-year report identified foreign-exchange losses as the main reason for the increase in finance costs at that stage. It recorded a net exchange loss of approximately US$4.3 million, compared with a net gain of US$0.36 million a year earlier. The third-quarter report did not provide an equivalent nine-month breakdown. For an owner expanding foreign-currency business, earnings will depend on both vessel performance and the management of currency assets, liabilities and settlements.

Cash generation supports a capital-intensive expansion

Operating cash flow provides another measure of the recovery. Net cash generated by operating activities increased 25.51% to approximately US$72.6 million (RMB487.7 million), about 1.58 times attributable net profit. Proceeds from selling vessels belong to investing cash flow and should be assessed separately.

Investment requirements remain substantial. Cash paid to acquire or construct fixed assets, intangible assets and other long-term assets totalled approximately US$129.0 million, meaning operating cash generation covered about 56% of that expenditure. Operating receipts, asset disposals and financing therefore all play a role in funding the investment programme.

At the end of September, total assets had risen 20.02% from year-end 2025 to approximately US$1.01 billion. Construction in progress increased about 76.10% to US$151.0 million, while long-term borrowings rose to US$237.3 million from US$151.3 million. Total liabilities as a proportion of assets increased from 34.66% to 42.42%. As projects move into service, their commercial performance will need to support the associated operating, depreciation and financing costs.

The next test is earning returns from the delivery programme

At 30 September 2026, Xingtong operated 40 vessels with aggregate capacity of 515,000 dwt, including 35 chemical tankers alongside product tankers and LPG carriers. Another 12 vessels, totalling 206,700 dwt, were under construction, with entry into service scheduled from the fourth quarter of 2026 through the first half of 2028. The reported total of 52 vessels includes those newbuildings.

The capacity under construction is equivalent to roughly 40% of the operating fleet’s deadweight. Actual net fleet growth will also depend on disposals. Among the projects tracked by Xinde Maritime, four 13,000-dwt stainless steel chemical tankers moved from an investment proposal announced in April 2026 to construction contracts signed in June, with deliveries expected from late 2027 through the first half of 2028.

Xingtong said at its October earnings briefing that it was developing overseas customers and preparing cargo opportunities ahead of deliveries. Deployment would follow vessel handover, receipt of the necessary operating approvals, and the availability of market demand and cargo. That is preparation for commercial employment rather than confirmation that every new ship already has long-term earnings secured.

For the international chemical tanker market, Xingtong’s development adds a growing operator with established domestic experience, expanding commercial partnerships and substantial new tonnage on the way. Its next delivery cycle will test how effectively that combination works across international trades. Vessel utilisation, overseas margins and cash generation will reveal more about the returns from expansion than the orderbook alone.

US-dollar equivalents are illustrative and use the 5 November 2026 central parity reference rate of US$1 = RMB6.7156. Historical amounts use the same rate for consistency. Growth rates are based on the original RMB figures; calculated ratios and amounts are rounded.