The company's shipbuilding slots, according to Loh, are now full until at least 2029, especially for large vessels. As such, it played down its ability to garner more of the series build, multi-billion-dollar orders that the market witnessed in 2024.
That said, there's recent chatter that the company is in the running for up to 12 x 18,000 TEU dual-fuel containerships with recent prices at around US$200 to US$21 million per vessel, says Loh.
According to Loh, the company is "relatively nonplussed" about the US-China trade war. Orders for China-built vessels dried up in 1HFY2025 in the wake of US port fees targeted at such vessels, but newbuilding enquiries had returned.
This was evident in Yangzijiang's new order wins of US$1.36 billion in 2HFY2025, more than 2.7x higher than 1HFY2025.
"The company remains hopeful that the US-China trade war will not escalate and that it can continue to win smaller-sized vessel orders from Southeast Asian clients," says Loh.
Besides keeping his "buy" call, Loh has raised his target PE multiple to 9.3x, which is 1.5SD above its 10-year average of 6.3x, as he is now more confident in the company’s shipbuilding margins as well as its earnings visibility into 2028.
Loh notes that the company’s 2026 PE and EV/EBITDA multiples appear inexpensive at 8.5x and 4.6x respectively, especially given that it delivers a robust 2026 ROE of over 23%.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shares, as at 12.16 pm, was down 1.13% to change hands at $3.51.
