Asia/Pacific News
Low Bunker Prices "Good News All Around" for Hong Kong's Chu Kong Shipping
Hong Kong ferry operator Chu Kong Shipping Enterprises (Group) Co Ltd (Chu Kong Shipping) says low fuel prices have been "good news" and have assisted the company's growth, local media reports.
“Low fuel prices are of course uplifting for our shipping and logistics business as bunker
costs subside,” said Bandy Shen, Head of Capital Markets and Chu Kong Shipping.
"Furthermore, we are under little if any pressure to reduce passenger ferry ticket prices
in the low fuel cost cycle, and in fact cross-border train and coach tickets haven't
fallen but have often risen so we enjoy the same metrics.”
The company’s interim net profit is reported to have risen to to HKD120 million ($15.48 million), a 16.17 percent increase, while gross profit grew 7.01 percent to HKD 222 million ($28.64 million).
"Our first half top and bottom line performances did not come as a surprise because we've
been upgrading our logistics facilities these past two years.”
"We accelerate and prioritize development of various projects based on their earnings
potential so it's difficult to give an accurate timeline at this point as to when all work
will be completed as it is an ongoing and evolving project.”
Chu Kong Shipping , which has a fleet of high-speed passenger ferries that travel between Hong Kong, Macau, and South China ports, was reportedly worried that China’s "anti-luxury" initiative would reduce passenger numbers.
"Originally, we were somewhat concerned that we'd see a dropoff in passenger volume to
Macau,” said Shen.
"But our concerns proved unfounded as numbers are still strong and we see most of our
passengers in the tourist/casual shopper/visitor categories.
"Our high-speed ferry transport to and from Macau is still stable.”
In August, it was reported that not only have bunker prices been falling, but bunkers are getting cheaper relative to crude.
