Yangzijiang Shipbuilding bags orders worth US$2.2 billion in year to date

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding on Monday (Nov 17) announced that it has obtained about US$2.2 billion worth of orders in the year to date.

This was a fifth of the US$11.6 billion in order wins recorded in the same period the year before.

The orders largely comprise small to mid-sized vessels, scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2029, said the shipbuilder.

In the first quarter, it said its order book target for the 2025 financial year was US$6 billion. It also posted a drastic cut in its order wins then, with orders worth US$300 million in the period compared to US$3.3 billion in Q1 2024.

Green vessels accounted for 71 per cent of its overall outstanding order book value, which stood at about US$22.8 billion from 245 vessels. Container ships remained the dominant vessel type, with a US$16.2 billion share across 126 vessels.

The shipbuilder added that it has delivered 46 vessels in the year to date, out of a target of 56 for the entire financial year.

Executive chairman and CEO Ren Letian said “greater clarity” in the global macroeconomic outlook translated into an improvement in customer sentiment and a modest recovery in order momentum.

However, he cautioned that the industry-wide order backlog remained at historical highs, with lead times stretching close to five years and limited delivery slots available for large-sized vessels in “tier-one” shipyards.

“Both shipowners and shipyards continue to adopt a prudent approach towards deliveries for 2030 and beyond,” he added. “The group remains focused on executing our order book with high quality and on-time delivery.

“At the same time, we are working to fill our remaining 2029 delivery slots, which are largely for small to mid-sized vessels.”

In September, the shipbuilder announced that three of its subsidiaries had cancelled contracts valued at about US$180 million with an unnamed party.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shares fell 0.9 per cent or S$0.03 to S$3.42 on Monday, before the news.

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