China Shipping Development Co Ltd said its first-quarter net profit more than doubled as China's rising demand for crude oil fuelled oil transhipping.
Net profit for the first three months of 2004 was 411.7 million yuan (US$49.7 million), up 134 percent from 176.3 million yuan in the same period last year, the company said in a statement.
Shares of the Shanghai-based oil shipping firm rose 5.41 percent to HK$4.875 in early Friday trade, outperforming the H-share index, which jumped 3.22 percent after a recent sell-off triggered by moves to tighten China's monetary policy.
The stock has eased about 25 percent in the past three months, but was up 126 percent in the 52 weeks through Thursday.
China Shipping said in a separate statement that it planned to expand its oil transportation fleet by building two 42,000 tonne carriers for a total of US$57 million.
The ships are to be built by Guangzhou Shipyard International Co Ltd and expected to start operation in February and June 2006.
It transhipped imported oil totalling about 1.41 billion tonne nautical miles in the first quarter, up almost 54 percent on the year.
The company said its strong performance was also aided by the robust domestic dry bulk cargo shipping market.
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