During the review period, the spot freight rate has increased due to the recovery of the operating environment of the global bulker shipping market, and the rise in dry bulk cargo market and China's import of coal. Revenue from spot freight has increased accordingly. Together with the reversal of the impairment losses of the Group's vessels as a result of the recovery in the marine transportation industry, the profit of the Group recorded approximately US$11.6 million. The revenue of the Group increased from approximately US$6.3 million for the six months ended 30 September 2017 to approximately US$8.2 million, representing an increase of approximately 31.7%. The average Daily TCE of the Group's fleet during the review period was approximately US$11,600 (1H 2017: approximately US$8,800)

In succession of the level from last year, the spot freight rate for dry bulk marine transportation market remains at a higher level in 2018. The rising demand for marine transportation of bulk grains in South America and the maintenance and growth of China's imports of iron ore and coal supported and helped to maintain and increase the spot freight rate. The average BDI was 1,436 points from April to September 2018, representing an increase of approximately 38% as compared to last year. The market prediction and statistics from vessel broker companies expect the demand of dry bulk marine transportation can reach a growth of approximately 3% this year, as compared to the growth of fleet size of approximately 2%. The oversupply of vessels would soon be alleviated, and it is also a key factor for the rise of this year's spot freight rate.

As at 30 September 2018, the Group's fleet comprised four panamax dry bulk vessels, namely GH FORTUNE, GH POWER, GH GLORY and GH HARMONY, with a total carrying capacity of approximately 319,923 dwt. The average age of the fleet is 12 years and the fleet maintained a high operational level with an occupancy rate of 99.7% during the review period. The average daily charter rate of the vessels was approximately US$11,596, representing an increase of approximately 32% as compared to the last corresponding period.

Mr. Yan Kim Po, the Chairman of Great Harvest Maeta Group Holdings Limited said, "The Group will continue to uphold its proactive and prudent operating strategies and seek to charter out its vessels to reputable charterers while endeavouring to provide the best services to charterers, so as to maintain a favourable market image for the vessel fleet."

On the other hand, the Haikou project of the Group is currently under the procedure of construction application as the Haikou local government has finalized its plans. The Group has planned to redevelop the Haikou project into "cultural and tourism real estate" project to construct villas, loft apartment, low density villas, retail, carpark and other ancillary facilities with approximately 130,000 square meters. In addition, the proposed investment of the Group's online hospitality services, online travel transaction services and real estate agency services business in Hainan, the PRC, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with two individuals in October 2018. It is believed that it can broaden the income spectrum of the Group.

Mr. Yan concluded, "Given the fluctuation in spot freight market, the Group will maintain its prudent operating strategies by enhancing the daily management of vessels, providing better transportation services to customers and seeking for more reputable and reliable charterers at higher rates, thus generating more operational revenue for the Company. Meanwhile, the Group will strictly control operating costs and reduce all unnecessary expenses."

Great Harvest Maeta Group Holdings Limited ("Great Harvest")The Group is principally engaged in chartering out its own dry bulk vessels and property investment and development. For the six months ended 30 September 2018, the Group's fleet size is 319,923 dwt, including 4 panamax dry bulk vessels, which are GH FORTUNE, GH POWER, GH GLORY and GH HARMONY, the average age of the Company's fleet is 12 years with the fleet occupancy rate at approximately 99.7%.

For further information about Great Harvest, please visit http://www.greatharvestmg.com^[1].

Topic: Press release summarySectors: Daily Finance, Daily News^[2][3] http://www.acnnewswire.com From the Asia Corporate News Network

Copyright © 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.

References

1. ^{^} http://www.greatharvestmg.com (www.greatharvestmg.com)
2. ^{^} Daily Finance (www.acnnewswire.com)
3. ^{^} Daily News (www.acnnewswire.com)