COSCO SHIP ENGY (01138) saw its shares surge more than 5% before noon, last trading up 5.52% at HK$14.71, with a turnover of HK$80.31 million.

On the news front, COSCO SHIP ENGY plans to hold a board meeting on August 28 to approve its interim results. The company had previously issued a profit alert, forecasting a net profit attributable to shareholders of approximately 4.5 billion yuan for the first half of the year, up about 141% year-on-year. For the second quarter, net profit is estimated at around 2.327 billion yuan, a sequential increase of approximately 7%.

China Merchants Securities noted that while tensions in the Middle East remain high, both sides are still maintaining dialogue channels. In practice, there has been no significant improvement in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz or the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Global tanker cargo volumes are relatively low, limiting the upside for freight rates. However, looking at the medium term, if traffic normalizes, tanker freight rates still have substantial room for growth.

Guotai Haitong Securities indicated that the industry believes the strait may not fully recover in the second half of the year, but a recovery by early 2027 remains possible.