Nanjing Tanker Corporation  reported that it incurred a loss of 320 million yuan in the first half of 2011, reports Securities Daily, citing a company filing. Revenue rose 11.02 percent year-on-year to 2.391 billion yuan.
Nanjing Tanker purchased seven ships and added new capacity of 1.06 million tons in the first half of 2011. It sold three ships, with capacities of 30,000 tons. Its total shipment was 28.12 million tons during the reporting period.
Nanjing Tanker’s loss was blamed on sluggish oil transport demand in the first half of 2011. Its operating cost increased 31.6 percent year-on-year in the same period. Oil price spiked, resulting in a higher fuel costs for the company. The gross margin from its transportation business was negative 0.07 percent, failing 15.3 percent year-on-year.
Nanjing Tanker’s operating cash inflows were insufficient during the reporting period. A higher loan interest rate led to more financial expenses for the company, and it incurred a loss from the appreciation of the Renminbi during that period.
Nanjing Tanker raised 1.5 billion yuan in a placement in 2010 to fund the construction of four ships. By the end of June this year, only one ship was completed. It earned the company 4.01 million yuan, less than the predicted yield of 4.5 million yuan.
According to an earlier announcement, Nanjing Tanker issued 275 million shares in placement and raised 1.548 billion yuan, at a per-share issuance price of 5.63 yuan. During the placement, Nanjing Tanker’s largest shareholder subscribed 82 percent of placement, while two institutional investors, CPIC Asset Management and Huatai Securities, only subscribed 25 million shares respectively. Shares of Nanjing Tanker closed at 2.66 today, which has fallen well below the share issuance price in the placement plan.