On the evening of October 29, China Merchants Energy Shipping Co., Ltd. released its third quarter report for 2025.
The report shows that in the third quarter of 2025, China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) achieved operating revenue of 6.725 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.95%; total profit of 1.329 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.20%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 1.175 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34.75%; and net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company excluding non-recurring gains and losses of 995 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.93%.
In the first three quarters, CMES achieved operating revenue of 19.310 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.07%; total profit of 3.808 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.09%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 3.299 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.06%; and net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company excluding non-recurring gains and losses of 2.901 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.78%.
In the first three quarters of 2025, the tanker shipping segment of CMES achieved operating revenue of 6.734 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.55%; net profit was 1.890 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.25%. The dry bulk shipping segment achieved operating revenue of 6.084 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.23%; net profit was 714 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 38.97%. The container shipping segment achieved operating revenue of 4.426 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.20%; net profit was 1.037 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 119.70%. The ro-ro shipping segment achieved operating revenue of 1.180 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.81%; net profit was 146 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 41.37%. The LNG shipping segment achieved operating revenue of 3 million yuan, and net profit of 559 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.93%.
CMES pointed out that during the reporting period, the company’s VLCC and Aframax fleets worked hard to overcome negative impacts such as the temporary restrictions on US-related routes caused by the USTR 301 port fee, leveraging advantages such as the customer matrix, fleet scale and quality, and flexibly adjusting capacity deployment and dry-docking schedules for scrubber installations. During the reporting period, the company’s VLCC fleet’s average daily TCE continued to outperform the market average; the average TCE level expected to be achieved for the spot operation days locked in for the fourth quarter during the reporting period also rose significantly and outperformed the market index.
Simultaneously, CMES continued to promote fleet structure optimization and energy-saving renovations. In the third quarter, the company completed dry-docking and scrubber installations for multiple VLCCs. Although the dry-docking and technical renovation projects for energy saving, digitalization, and intelligentization temporarily affected the effective operational days in the third quarter and led to a temporary increase in costs, they further enhanced the fleet’s low-carbon operation and sustainable profitability. Meanwhile, the company closely monitored US dollar interest rates and /RMB exchange rate trends, actively implemented multiple measures to reduce financial expenses, maintaining the overall quality leadership of the company’s VLCC fleet while also achieving significantly lower costs than the market. The spot market performance of the VLCC fleet outperformed almost all large tanker company peer groups, continuously demonstrating the operational capabilities, scale, quality, global customer matrix, and other advantages of the company’s tanker fleet.
In the dry bulk shipping segment, CMES continued to strengthen market analysis, actively responded to changes in the shipping patterns of cargoes such as iron ore, coal, grain, and bauxite, and flexibly employed strategies such as separate vessel and cargo route operations, phased time charters, and forward freight locking to capture market fluctuations and optimize layout. Although the existing fleet’s ship type and age structure is not advantageous, and the company temporarily and proactively relinquished some high-yield Atlantic routes due to the impact of the USTR 301 port fee, the company leveraged its advantages as a Chinese shipowner, its Chinese client base, and its continuously improving market operation capabilities. The operational scale expanded steadily, and the TCE level achieved in the first three quarters still outperformed the market by approximately 4%. During the reporting period, the company continued to steadily advance capacity building and optimization. Two 82,000 DWT Kamsarmax bulk carriers have been delivered as of the date of this report. Coupled with strengthened business cooperation with shipowners like Guohang Far Ocean, grain transportation capacity was significantly enhanced; the bareboat charter project for four 210,000 DWT Newcastlemax bulk carriers from CDB Financial Leasing is progressing orderly; other long-term COA projects made phased progress, and the benefits of existing VLOC projects steadily improved.
In the automobile ro-ro shipping segment, the market during the reporting period was affected by multiple headwinds including the concentrated delivery of global ro-ro capacity, trade wars, and intensified market competition, leading to widespread downward pressure on freight rates on major routes. CMES actively responded by optimizing route networks, increasing efforts to secure backhaul cargo, and deepening cooperation with core customers to tackle challenges, although achieving the annual operating plan this year is difficult. During the reporting period, the company added one new 9,300 CEU large car and truck carrier (LCTC), the “Gang Rong”, the world’s first large methanol dual-fuel powered ro-ro ship, and continued to advance the construction project for the 7,800 CEU newbuilds.
In the container shipping segment, affected by slowing global trade demand, demand being pulled forward due to the “shipping rush” triggered by US tariff policies, and the continuous delivery of new capacity, the market faced downward pressure. CMES achieved counter-trend growth by precisely capturing opportunities in regional markets, optimizing route networks, and implementing lean operations. The company’s performance remained stable on main routes such as Japan-Korea and cross-strait routes, with significant cargo volume growth on emerging routes like Southeast Asia and India. The network coverage was further expanded by launching new routes such as Far East-Mexico and East China-Thailand. Faced with rising costs such as vessel charter hire and terminal handling charges, the company effectively achieved cost reduction and efficiency improvement through meticulous cost control, optimization of chartering structure, and increasing the proportion of owned containers, among other measures. Furthermore, the company actively promoted “end-to-end” capability building and the establishment of overseas networks, laying the foundation for deeper cultivation of the Southeast Asian market in the future.
In the LNG vessel shipping segment, the LNG vessel business revenue of CMES remained stable during the reporting period. The investment expenditures for projects primarily controlled and participated in by the wholly-owned company CMLNG progressed orderly. The first LNG vessel, the “Hai Yun Lun”, was successfully delivered with high quality and completed its maiden voyage successfully. The construction quality and progress of other vessels are ideal. The joint venture CLNG, co-operated with COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation, operated steadily, achieving net profit better than expected. As of the end of the reporting period, four vessels from the Qatar Gas Phase I project have been delivered and are operating. The company is expected to deliver a total of 7 newbuild LNG vessels within the year. Currently, there are 37 LNG vessels under construction in total (27 for CMLNG and 10 for CLNG). Multiple projects, including Dachan, Qatar Gas, CNOOC Phase II, and Petronas, are progressing steadily. The company’s LNG vessel segment will quickly enter an investment harvest season in the coming years.
