Wanhai made more money in the first quarter than in the first half of the year, Q3 EPS of 7.77 yuan hit a 16-quarter high

Wanhai's third-quarter EPS was 7.77 yuan, which was better than the first half of the year. (Provided by Wan Hai)

[Reporter Wang Yihong/Taipei Report] Wanhai’s third-quarter consolidated revenue was 59.615 billion yuan, after-tax net profit was 21.793 billion yuan, and single-quarter earnings per share (EPS) 7.77 yuan, a quarterly increase of 89.05%, an annual increase of 87.23%, better than the 6.84 yuan in the first half of the year, and also a new high since the fourth quarter of 2022; the cumulative consolidated revenue in the first three quarters was 136.156 billion yuan, an annual increase of 27.28%, after-tax net profit was 40.999 billion yuan, EPS reached 1.461 yuan, an annual increase of 91.23%, both revenue and profits showed significant growth.

Looking forward to the market outlook, Wan Hai pointed out that in the fourth quarter, as Asian regional routes enter the traditional peak demand season, price and volume performance are expected to receive good support; ocean routes will gradually enter the low demand season, and U.S. line freight rates are expected to be revised compared to the third quarter. At the same time, the demand for holiday stocking and inventory replenishment in the fourth quarter will still inject momentum into the market. At the macro level, the industry is paying close attention to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (APEC) held in Shenzhen on November 18 and the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Miami on December 14, and continues to track the progress of follow-up negotiations between China and the United States on port fees and tariffs.

Wan Hai said that since the second quarter, global demand for container transportation has continued to be strong. As ocean routes enter the traditional peak season, external variables such as the obstruction of straits due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, navigation restrictions in the Panama Canal, and congestion at major ports in Asia further support the maintenance of high market freight rates. In the face of multiple challenges such as geopolitical conflicts, oil price fluctuations and rising operating costs, the Company has continued to promote fleet renewal and flexibly adjust its route layout, effectively leveraging its cumulative revenue and profits in the first three quarters to achieve significant growth.

In terms of the supply and demand structure of the shipping market, global shipping capacity is still in a stable and tight state. According to an October 2026 report released by Alphaliner, a French shipping consultancy, the commercial idle rate of the global container fleet is only 0.7%, and charter rates have also climbed to the highest level in the past four years. This shows that even if the market continues to deliver new ships, the remaining shipping capacity that can be immediately put into operation in the short term is still quite scarce. In terms of freight rate trends, the Shanghai Export Container Freight Index (SCFI) reached 3,680 points on October 16, an increase of 181% from the same period last year. The overall freight rate still has strong support.

Wan Hai said that in the first half of the year, the cargo volume of the world's top four ports increased across the board, with Shanghai Port, Singapore Port, Ningbo Zhoushan Port and Shenzhen Port posting annual increases of 6.2%, 4.7%, 8.8% and 7.7% respectively. In addition, some transshipment cargo flows gradually moved to hub ports in South Asia and Southeast Asia, driving the cargo volume of Nhava Sheva, Colombo and Jakarta ports to grow by 13.6%, 11.9% and 10.3% respectively. However, the congestion problem at major ports has not yet been fundamentally resolved, and the upgrade of port expansion and back-end trailers, logistics and other infrastructure has not kept pace with market demand, resulting in continued restrictions on the supply of effective ship capacity, and the overall supply and demand structure is relatively healthy.