The Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) share price is edging higher today. This comes after the global shipbuilder delivered a high-speed catamaran ferry to Chinese mainland ferry operator, Blue Sea Jet.
At the time of writing, the Austal share price is up 2.51% to $2.86. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.2% higher to 6,498 points.
Austal designs and manufactures high performance vessels for commercial and defence customers worldwide. Most notably, Austal builds and services warships for the Australian Royal Navy and the United States Navy.
Catamaran delivery
Austal advised the market today that it has fulfilled a contract delivery of a 42m high-speed catamaran passenger ferry. Repeat customer, Blue Sea Jet is expected to put its ship in service immediately.
The catamaran will ferry up to 272 people over the waters of the Dawan District between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau.
The vessel, named Xin Hai Chi, was constructed at the Aulong's shipyard in Zhongshan City. It is the third ship to be designed and built for Blue Sea Jet since 2016.
Joint venture program
Austal highlighted that Aulong Shipbuilding is a joint venture program with Jianglong Shipbuilding of Zhuhai, China. Established in June 2016, the partnership aims to pursue commercial passenger and non-military vessel opportunities in mainland China.
With an ownership stake of 40%, Austal has licenced a number of commercial aluminium vessel designs for marketing through China. Jianglong Shipbuilding provides local shipbuilding infrastructure, and manpower of up to 1,000 employees across two shipyards.
Austal CEO David Singleton said the new delivery confirmed Aulong's position as a preferred shipbuilder of China's leading ferry operators. He added:
Aulong has quickly developed a strong reputation for delivering China's best high-speed craft – drawing on Austal's expertise in commercial ferry design and Jianglong's local shipbuilding capability.
About the Austal share price
The Austal share price has been on the mends to recovery since the start of November. Its shares fell to an 8-month low of $2.59 in late October. This was just 15% higher than its multi-year low reached in March this year due to COVID-19.
The company has a market capitalisation of $1.02 billion and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.5.
