Jet fuel supplier China Aviation Oil has reported earnings of US$56.2 million for FY2020, down 43.7% from the preceding year, as the economic damage from Covid-19 comes to bear.

Due to the pandemic which curbed international travel and therefore demand for jet fuel which CAO supplies, revenue for the year was down 48.3% to US$10.5 billion.

During the year, total supply and trading volume decreased 25.2% to 27.6 million tonnes, while volume for middle distillates decreased 36% to 14.3 million tonnes.

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Besides the drop in volume, CAO had to cope with higher volatility in oil prices too, which “forced” the company to bring its trading and risk management expertise into “full play”, says CEO Wang Yanjun.

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“CAO has delivered a set of creditable results for FY2020, aided by the group’s proactive measures,” says Wang, who calls the year’s numbers “hard earned” given the “perilous market conditions”. 

CAO plans to pay a first and final dividend of 2.58 cents for FY2020, vs 4.7 cents paid for FY2019.

Prior to the trading break on Feb 26, CAO last traded at $1.14, down two cents.