China State Shipbuilding Co, set to become the country's biggest shipbuilder, doubled second-quarter profit as the company sold more diesel ship engines to equip a record number of vessels under construction.
Net income climbed to 98.3 million yuan (S$19.8 million) from 47.6 million yuan a year earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations based on the first-half results published by the company yesterday. Sales increased 26 per cent to 647.1 million yuan.
Shipyards in China, the world's second-biggest builder of vessels by order backlog, won record orders in the first half on demand for ships to carry goods at home and abroad.
China State Shipbuilding, the country's largest maker of diesel ship engines, profited as it sold more units to power those boats.
The Shanghai-based company's shares have more than quadrupled this year, outpacing a 127 per cent gain in China's benchmark CSI 300 Index.
Formerly known as Hudong Heavy Machinery Co, the company changed its name on Aug 1 after receiving government approval to buy shipyard assets from its parent, China State Shipbuilding Corp.
When the purchase is complete, it will control Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co, China's biggest shipyard.
The sale of shares to pay for the purchase is 'basically complete', China State Shipbuilding said yesterday, without specifying when the asset transfer would be finished.
Acquiring the Waigaoqiao yard will give China State Shipbuilding one-fifth of China's shipbuilding capacity as the country seeks to double output, overtaking South Korea as the world's biggest builder of vessels by 2015.
Waigaoqiao is the world's fourth-largest shipyard by tonnes of orders on hand, according to a January report by Morgan Stanley analyst Andy Meng.