JET fuel trader China Aviation Oil (CAO) : G92 0% on Tuesday (Aug 8) reported a net profit of US$19.74 million for its half year ended Jun 30, 2023, up 0.4 per cent from US$19.66 million in the same period last year. 

This came as revenue for the half year plunged 32.4 per cent to US$6.3 billion from US$9.3 billion a year earlier, as a result of the decrease in oil prices and volumes, the group said in a bourse filing. 

Gross profit also plummeted by 50.6 per cent to US$10.6 million due to lower gains derived from trading activities, it said. This was partially offset by the rise in other operating income, which reversed its H1 2022 loss to a profit of US$9.6 million in H1 2023 on higher interest income.

Operating expenses also saw a 62.4 per cent year-on-year fall to US$882,000. 

Earnings per share stood at 2.29 US cents for the half year, unchanged from the year-ago period. 

No interim dividend was declared for H1 2023. 

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CAO chief executive officer Lin Yi noted that the group’s performance in the first half of its 2023 financial year was “commendable” given the challenging operating environment. 

He reckoned that it will continue to be challenging for the rest of the year. 

“However, with the Chinese government’s ongoing efforts to spur growth in international air traffic in the second half of this year, the recovery of the international air passenger market in China is expected to accelerate,” he said. “As such, the Group remains cautiously optimistic on its performance for the second half of the year.”

Shares of CAO closed 2.7 per cent or S$0.025 higher at S$0.945 on Tuesday, before the announcement.