Hong Kong-listed
NewOcean Energy Holdings Ltd reports that overall sales of marine fuel in Hong Kong and China increased in 2016 compared to the previous year.
Total sales of marine fuel in Hong Kong and China rose by 254,800 tonnes, or 19.5 percent, to
1,563,100 tonnes last year, up from 1,308,300 tonnes in 2015.
Whilst bunker sales in Hong Kong dipped by 61,000 tonnes, or 6.7 percent, from 909,300 tonnes to 848,300 tonnes last year, China recorded a jump in sales of 315,800 tonnes, or 79.1 percent, to 714,800 tonnes - up from 399,000 tonnes in 2015.
In Hong Kong, total sales of fuel oil (direct to ships and to other bunker operators) declined by 19,500 tonnes, or 2.8 percent, to 673,800 tonnes, down from 693,300 tonnes the previous year. Direct sales of fuel oil to ships rose by 87,300 tonnes, or 24.8 percent, to 439,200 tonnes, whilst sales of fuel oil to other bunker operators fell by 106,800 tonnes, or 31.3 percent, to 234,600 tonnes.
Referring to the rise in direct sales of fuel oil to ships in Hong Kong, NewOcean said: "The major difference was that the volume of goods directly bunkered to ships had shown a significant increase during the period, whereas the volume of goods supplied to other operators had decreased correspondingly due to the limitations on the logistics
tool. The proportion of the volumes of direct bunkering to ships and supply to other operators was
approximately 65.18 : 34.82 (the proportion in 2015 was approximately 50.76 : 49.24)."
Total distillate sales (direct to ships and to other bunker operators) in Hong Kong fell by 41,500 tonnes, or 19.2 percent, to 174,500 tonnes. Direct distillate sales of fuel oil to ships decreased by 89,500 tonnes, or 44.2 percent, to 112,900 tonnes, while sales of distillates to other bunker operators jumped 48,000 tonnes, or 352.9 percent to 61,600 tonnes, up from 13,600 tonnes in 2015.
Overall, NewOcean's sales of oil and chemical products rose by 1,284,000 tonnes, or 64.4 percent, to 3,277,000 tonnes. In Hong Kong, the figure was 1,515,200 tonnes - up 510,200 tonnes, or 50.8 percent; in China the company sold 1,761,800 tonnes, representing an increase of 773,800 tonnes, or 78.3 percent.
Commenting on the growth in China, NewOcean said: "In 2016, the Group devoted relatively more resources
into the Chinese market. The addition of several [second-hand] bunkering ships helped [meet] the
increasing demand [for] marine bunkering services. In addition, a large batch of oil products/
chemical products from overseas were purchased, so as to conduct the marine and land wholesaling
businesses via the oil storage depot located in the Pearl River Delta Region. During such period, we
had successfully expanded the oil products business from Guangdong to Fujian to realize the
significant growth in the oil products business."
Audited results 2016
In its financial results for 2016, total comprehensive income declined by HKD 33.1 million to HKD 542.7 million. Profit after tax was HKD 750.2 million, compared to HKD 759.0 million the year before, whilst gross profit was HKD 1,756.9 million, down from HKD 1,839.9 million in 2015.
NewOcean's revenue in 2016 was HKD 15,700.4 million, up from HKD 15,515 million the previous year.
Outlook for 2017
In its outlook for 2016, NewOcean said that "due to the rebound in oil prices, it is possible that the
spreads of the oil products business will experience a minor improvement".
"During the year, the marine bunkering business in Hong Kong is not expected to have a substantial growth, in which the pace of growth will become slower as compared with that of the last few years. Similarly, the marine bunkering business in China is not expected to not grow as rapidly as it had in 2016," NewOcean added.
Expansion
NewOcean noted that it "will not exclude the possibility of rapidly building the refueling
networks in the [form] of mergers and acquisitions so as to reach our goals of expanding the sales to
end users within a shorter time frame".
The company added that it intends to expand its vessel refuelling business by constructing marine bunkering stations in the Pearl River, Beijiang River and Xijiang River regions of Guangdong Province.
