COSCO SHIP ENGY (01138) saw a rise of nearly 6% in morning trading. At the time of writing, the stock was up 4.99%, trading at HK$18.11, with a turnover of HK$82.38 million.

The company released its first-quarter results, reporting revenue of RMB 7.303 billion, a year-on-year increase of 26.95% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 7.65%. Net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 2.173 billion, surging 207.09% year-on-year and 65.34% quarter-on-quarter. The significant growth in both profit and revenue was primarily driven by a notable improvement in freight rates compared to the same period last year.

Goldman Sachs issued a research report stating that due to a large number of LR2 tankers shifting to transport dirty oil, which reduces effective capacity and pushes up product tanker freight rates, it has raised its profit forecasts for 2026 to 2028 by 3% to 4%. For crude oil tankers, the firm largely maintains its forecast for VLCC average daily time charter rates at $150,000 and $130,000 for 2026 and 2027, respectively. The report suggests that the VLCC super cycle is being driven by tight capacity, further strengthened by industry consolidation, with COSCO SHIP ENGY being a primary beneficiary.