Antong Holdings, the parent company of China’s second largest domestic liner operator Quanzhou Ansheng Shipping, has released its Q1 figures, with a CNY43.76 million (US$6.66 million) net profit, compared with a CNY121.28 million (US$17.08 million) net loss in Q1 2020.
Revenue was up 58% to CNY1.29 billion as business picked up amid a recovery in demand for container shipping.
The results show the group is on the road to recovery. In December 2020, Antong completed a year-long government-led restructuring that saw CNY4.53 billion (US$688 million) injected into the company, enabling its debts to be cleared.
The group said that rates have held onto their firming trend and it is therefore confident of remaining in the black in H1 2021.
Chinese Communist Party secretary Wang Jingwen, now Antong’s legal representative, said that the reorganisation and the financial crisis at Antong and its two core subsidiaries, Quanzhou Ansheng and Quanzhou Antong Logistics, was fully resolved, and the group’s operations are improving.
Wang said, “Antong’s market image has gradually recovered. At the same time, industrial production and consumption have been greatly restored. Strong domestic consumption and production, and the recovery of exports, have driven the demand for domestic logistics and transportation. On this basis, we expect that the H1 2021 will again see a return to profit, from the loss incurred in the same period of the previous year.”
Originally a family-run business, Antong’s troubles began when Guo Dongze, a major shareholder, provided unauthorised guarantees amounting to CNY633.36 million (US$90.15 million) for a number of transactions involving the company.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
