Good morning to those in Europe, and good afternoon to those in Asia. Thank you very much for joining 2024 Q2 and first half results presentation of Jinhui Shipping and Transportation Limited. If anybody cannot hear me, please type the message, you know, on and see if I can sort it out. I presume everybody can hear me. Great. Okay. Thank you. Let's begin. Quickly going through the highlights. Looking at just Q2 2024 financial highlights. Revenue for the quarter is $41 million. EBITDA $21 million. Net profit for the quarter $9 million, and basic earnings per share of the quarter $0.081. If we look at the entire six months, first half 2024, revenue for the period $69 million. EBITDA $34 million.
Net profit for the period, $11 million. Basic earnings per share, 0.103. Gearing ratio as of 30th of June 2024, 7%. I think it's encouraging to see that, you know, Q2 has been picking up, you know, as we expect, the freight market as well as, you know, the business is starting to gain strength. So going to the highlights. The group reported consolidated net profit of $9 million for the current quarter and $11 million for the first half of 2024. Chartering revenue increased 81% to $41 million for the current quarter, mainly due to a very strong freight rate environment. Reported Q2 2024 average TC of the group's fleet is significantly stronger than in Q2 2023.
It increased 52% to $15,407 per day for Q2 2024, as compared to $10,132 per day for Q2 2023. We achieved an average TCE of $17,702 per day for Panamax fleet, and $15,110 for the Ultramax, Supramax fleet for the current quarter, as compared to $4,719 for Panamax and $10,360 for the Ultramax, Supramax fleet for Q2 2023, a significant improvement quarter- on- quarter. Shipping-related expenses increased $5.4 million, mainly attributable to the rise in higher payments upon the increase in number of chartered in vessels during the quarter.
The average number of chartered in vessels in operation in the second quarter of 2024 increased to 10 vessels, as compared to one vessel in the last corresponding quarter. The daily running cost of owned vessels slightly decreased from $5,429 of Q2 2023 to $5,396 as of Q2 2024. This is because lower crew costs are incurred and a good pat on our own back, vessel running costs has been well under control. Net gain on financial assets at fair value through P&L of $1.7 million and a settlement income of $3.5 from a legal dispute over the non-performance of a charter party were included in the other operating income. For those who have been following, you know, Jinhui for some time, this is regarding the Parakou case.
This is not the entire settlement, you know, because it involves multi-jurisdiction. There will be further settlement, some to come in, going forward. It is not coming in all at the same time due to multi-jurisdiction, and as we all know, to put it in a nutshell, you know, legal process always takes time, you know, with the courts. Finance costs slightly increased to $1.4 million for the current quarter from $1.1 million of last corresponding quarter as a result of recognition of interest expenses on lease liabilities of $0.4 million during the quarter. As at end of June 2024, secured bank loans amounted to $64.7 million. Current portion, $15.2 million. Long-term, $49.5 million, respectively.
During the first half of 2024, a net repayment of $23.4 million of bank borrowings were repaid. To further enhance and improve fleet profile while limiting the capital expenditure of acquisition of vessels, the group entered into time charter engagements, time charter in, during the first half of 2024, with total carrying capacity of approximately 705,000 metric tons. As at 30th of June 2024, 23 owned vessels and 10 chartered in vessels are being operated. Total carrying capacity of approximately 2.2 million metric tons. We have contract to acquire a 2012-built Capesize at a consideration of $31 million. The vessel was delivered to the group in August 2024. We also contract to acquire a 2019-built Panamax at a consideration of $31 million. The vessel was delivered to the group in May 2024.
We entered into two shipbuilding contracts for the construction of two Ultramaxes, each at a consideration of $34 million, to be delivered in 2016 and 2017. Subsequent to reporting date, the group entered into contract to acquire a 2008-built Capesize at a consideration of $24 million, to be delivered in the fourth quarter in 2024. This is the summary of the financial highlights. I believe, you are all proficient in reading the financial statements, so I won't go through this. As of Q2, 2024, total assets stands at $488 million. Net equity, $360 million. Secured bank loans, $64.7 million. Current ratio, 1.2x . Net gearing, 7%. Working capital of $10 million.
Available liquidity at just below $40 million. This chart is just showing how our fleet has been evolving. We always look to actively manage, you know, this fleet profile in accordance to our expectation, actually, or even the prevailing in the market conditions. We just have to react sometimes. The next slide is the list of our 24 owned vessels, a total carrying capacity of 1.54 million deadweight metric tons. Average age, 13.6. In terms of chartered in, we've chartered in 2 Panamax long term, 2 Ultramax, Supramax long term. For short-term chartered, i.e., below 12 months, Panamax, 1, and Ultramax, Supramax, 4. And also, I've showed you the names of the long-term chartered in vessels.
The total carrying capacity or deadweight, sorry, not carrying capacity, the deadweight of these chartered in vessels, 610,000 deadweight metric tons. Vessel mortgage loans were fully repaid in the first half of 2024. We currently have $64.7 million of secured bank loans. As of Q2, 24% of this amount will be repayable within the next 12 months, and 76% within the next two years. As of Q2 2024, total volume in tons of cargo carried by the fleet is 5.3 million tons. 55% minerals, 13% steel products, 11% cement, 10% coal, 6% agricultural products, 1% fertilizer, and 4% others, various cargos.
In terms of loading ports, 56% of the cargos are loaded in Asia, excluding China, 19% South America, 18% China, 2% North America, 3% Africa, and 1% Europe, 1% Australia as well. In terms of discharging, 51% of our cargos are being discharged in China, Chinese ports, 38% in Asia, excluding China, 5% North America, 2% Europe, 3% Africa, and 1% Australia. Here's the TC of our fleet. If we mentioned, talked about the Q2 numbers, let's have a look at the first half, 2024, compare, you know, to first half, 2023.
For the Panamax fleet, $17,478 over the course of six months of 2024 , as compared to $8,894 of the corresponding quarter in 2023 . $13, 560 for Ultramax, Supramax in first half, 2024 , versus $8,357 in the first half of 2023 . So if you look at all these numbers and if we average them, look at the average of the entire fleet, $13,939 versus $8,379 for the first half in 2024 , compared to the corresponding six months in the previous years, it showed significant improvement. We hope that going forward for the rest of the year, you know, it will show continued strength.
We've been putting a lot of effort in controlling costs. And of course, with the COVID over, you know, the cost side of the business starts to edge down, mainly due to crew costs or all those additional costs in relation to COVID at various ports. For Q2, 2024, the running cost per day $5,396. Again, we managed to shave a little bit down as compared to Q2, 2023. In terms of outlook, when we look at the supply and demand of our industry, supply of new vessels is currently low. We see that demand side is steadily robust, and we are cautiously optimistic on the outlook.
I guess our actions also speak for itself, you know, hence, you know, we have been chartering in vessels, acquiring, you know, vessels, you know, to to increase our fleet profile. I have questions, you know, from one of the shareholders who emailed me saying that, you know, you know, our target is to renew our fleet, you know, to lower the age. Yes, it remains to be so. However, sometimes when we see opportunities in the secondhand market where we can buy attractive secondhand vessels, we have to be flexible in terms of what is available or what our expectations of, you know, certain sector of vessels, you know, is gonna be. Sometimes, you know, we might, we may deviate with, you know, our plan.
I always stress that, you know, we are not like a manufacturing, you know, company. We don't get orders from Apple on how many units of iPhone, you know, and increase, you know, our manufacturing line in accordance to orders. We can't do that. We have to be flexible. A lot of time we just have to be very nimble and react to how market changes. Despite, you know, our recent, you know, activity in the secondhand market, you know, we have been slowing down. Firstly, you know, we've been spending a lot to acquire vessels, obviously, you can see. At the same time, we see that secondhand values are strong, maybe a little bit too strong, right now.
And we see signs of dislocation of, between asset values and freight rates. We'll have to see, you know, again, see more indication or signs or we will have to read into our tea leaves, to see that. To see a more clear signs that the freight rates are gaining strength, you know, before we make, further decisions. At the same time, when we look at the overall, you know, world, you know, we are still seeing, you know, very signs of uncertainty. You know, the overall global economic growth is, you know, kind of in a fragile footing. And of course, you know, the geopolitical risks, you know, all these disagreements, sanctions and tariffs, you know, we are mindful of these, risk factors.
So we are treading, you know, forward, you know, very carefully. Having said that, you know, we will always continue to look for opportunities, you know, to try to renew the fleet and generate value for our shareholders. Thank you, Thor. Thank you, Thor, for asking, you know, this question. You know, we'll be considering, you know, to sell certain ships or older ships in our fleet. But again, I hope, you know, you are on our side. You know, I can't, you know, bring out a microphone and scream at the market, you know? So I hope you can be a little bit more sympathetic in terms of, I'm not gonna tell you, "Hey, this is what we're looking to sell.
That is what we're looking to sell." No, I'm afraid we cannot do that, you know. It's like screaming on, at potential buyers. Our interests are aligned. You know, we are trying to, you know, if when we're gonna buy vessels, we try to buy the best, cheapest vessel. At the same time, we also try to fetch the highest value, you know, in the market, so we can't announce to the market, you know, with a microphone. What is the ratio of short-term rentals, long-term rentals? I think, you know, we already said that. You know, there are. If we look back, if you look back at page. Hold on a second. If you look back at this slide. Hold on. Where is it? Here. So there are ten vessels right now. Four of them are long-term charter-ins or chartered in, we call them.
Hold on just a sec, I need to look. Why not utilize strong secondhand market to sell off some assets and pay a healthy dividend? Good try, guys. You know, I cannot comment on dividends. I think, you know, we, again, you know, if you ask, you know, these questions, you know, I will also have to give you a very, you know, standard answer. We have to first think about, you know, the long-term, you know, plan of the operations, the business, what we, what we're gonna do going forward, and balancing, you know, also, you know, in paying dividends. We have, in terms of access to credit, we have good access to credit. I think, you know, if you look at our...
Debt profile, it is not ideal right now. We are aware of that. You know, we will be replenishing, you know, our, or topping up our, balance sheet, you know, in due course. We do not go to the capital markets, you know, to issue debt. You know, we are very old school. We go to normal banks to look for lending facilities, and we have good relationships with a number of banks, so. I think, you know, I'm not gonna comment on certain geographical location. But I think if you look at our loading port and discharging port pattern, you would have noticed that, you know, we have increased, you know, our presence in, you know, the further corners, you know, of the world.
You know, where we used to very much focus in Asia alone, and we are now, our footprint is crossing over to other, farther corners of the world, including South America and Africa. Anthony, will Jinhui operate more chartered-in vessels in the future? Again, you know, we will have to be opportunistic about this, so I can't give you, like, a concrete answer, you know, and say, "Yes." What if it's becoming too expensive to charter in, right? So it actually depends on the market, you know, what we see from our customers, and we will react accordingly. Right now, you know, Well, it is profitable. The range of-- I'll give you an idea, you know.
The cost of chartering in these vessels range from $14,000, you know, per day to around $16,000 per day. Actually, for the larger size, even $18,000. So, yeah, overall, they are profitable. But when we do these, I'll call them bolt-on acquisition, if you like, in a fancy finance term, or when we do asset purchases or even charter-in vessels, it's because we see the freight market strengthening. So it's more like laying out, you know, the chess pieces, you know, to reap the benefit, you know, going forward. They are not hugely profitable right now, you know, but it's positive.
But we're, you know, we're making these moves, you know, for, you know, for future, for going forward, if you understand what I mean. I think, you know, I can't give you the exact, you know, time of these long-term charters. I think every single long-term charter that we have made announcements, so I urge you to refer to those announcements. For example, I can't remember exact time. For example, the Taho Circular, I think it was like, you know, for four years, some of four or five. Okay, sorry, but the exact period, you know, doesn't... It's skipping my mind, and I have a pile of papers on me, so I'm not going to dig through, you know. If you really can't find the information, email me, and I'll answer you there.
We are not, you know, doing too many long-term charters. We are putting a limit on the long-term charters in because, for those who are proficient with, you know, your accounting rules, too long a charter, it will create a huge long-term liability in, on the balance sheet, and this is not something that we want. At the same time, you know, I think, you know, we have gone through thick and thin, the good times and the bad, bad times in shipping. We still remember how painful it could be when long-term charter fails. It's all getting messy. There will be, you know, charter disputes, all these legal cases, you know. So we pick, you know, our charterers, sorry, we pick, you know, our partners in terms of charter in or charter out very, very, very carefully.
And when it comes to long-term charter in or maybe in future long-term charter out, we are very, very careful with that. No, we are not considering, or we have no current plans of listing out the chartering business in a separate, area right now. But I hear you. Oh, my apology. You mean listing, you know, in a separate business area in their accounts? I'll reflect this, you know, to within the company on that, you know. But I think, you know, we have been reporting it like this, and, if you read into the financial statements, you know, the numbers, you know, should explain. Again, Thor, you know, we also appreciate that you want to know absolutely everything, you know.
By the way, you know, I had some funny food for lunch, you know, if you want to know, but I can't tell. We cannot write everything in our financial statements because our competitors will read into it. So we have to operate within the accounting rules and disclose as much as possible so that, you know, the shareholders can understand, you know, what's happening, but without our competitors reading into the tea leaves. If you look at our annual report, you will know the list of banking relationship. Those are our primary lending banks. I have no comment on, you know, discounted NAV, at the moment.
If you ask me about, you know, discount to NAV, you know, then, one of the comment that I can make is that, you know, the fashion is to, invest in technology stocks, you know? I mean, I think I understand from your perspective, you know, strategy to improve, you know, the discount to NAV. We're doing everything, you know, to, to make sure to be profitable. It's only a few years back, you know, that, you know, the, that, you know, we came out, you know, from, shipping, came out from, you know, the very, very dark corners. We're trying very, very hard to make sure the company is profitable as well as financially stable. We hope we can attract shareholders who share the same view and will stick with us.
But we're working very hard. We hear you. Discount to NAV, dividend, we know that and we hear you. We hope that you guys can be patient, and I hope that I can bring these good news to you, you know, in the coming quarters. Any further questions? Okay, if there are no further questions, you know, I'll call an end, you know, to our to the presentation. Thank you so much for attending. You know, I want to say, stress again, Jinhui and all shareholders, our interests are all aligned. So we hear you about NAV, dividend, et cetera. We're doing everything, you know, to generate value for everyone, and we'll continue to work hard, and fingers crossed, I will bring good news to you in coming quarters. Thank you very much for attending. Good evening, and good morning again to all. Thank you.