Company Overview
CBL International Limited operates as a marine fuel logistics provider that facilitates vessel refueling solutions across a specific network including Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Singapore, and international markets. The company functions within the Energy sector, specifically the Oil & Gas Midstream industry, where it acts as an intermediary purchasing marine fuel to connect ship operators with local physical distributors and traders. The organization currently employs 39 individuals and holds a market capitalization of $24.15M, while generating annual revenue of $580.46M over the trailing twelve-month period. These financial figures indicate that despite its relatively small market capitalization and modest workforce, the company manages a revenue stream that is significantly larger than its equity valuation, suggesting a business model where operational scale is not yet fully reflected in the current share price or where the market is pricing in substantial future adjustments or risks.
Financial Health
Over the trailing twelve months, the company reported a total revenue of $580.46M, a net income of $-3,174,803, and an EBITDA of $-2,437,798. The substantial gap between the high revenue figure of $580.46M and the negative net income reveals a cost structure where operating expenses and costs of goods sold exceed gross revenues, resulting in a loss that is deeper than the EBITDA suggests. The free cash flow stands at $-21,965,712, which indicates a significant cash burn rate that limits the company's financial flexibility and its ability to fund operations without external capital or significant cash reserves. Analysis of the three primary margins shows a gross margin of 0.9%, an operating margin of -0.3%, and a profit margin of -0.5%, indicating that the company struggles to retain value from its sales after covering direct costs, operating expenses, and taxes. The balance sheet shows cash holdings of $5.43M compared to total debt of $100,152, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, suggesting a conservative leverage position where cash assets slightly outweigh total liabilities. The current ratio of 1.54 indicates that the company possesses sufficient current assets to cover its short-term liabilities, providing a baseline of short-term liquidity despite the cash outflows. Furthermore, the return on equity is -14.2% and the return on assets is -2.5%, metrics that reveal that management effectiveness is currently negative, as the company is generating losses on both the shareholders' equity and the total asset base utilized to run the business.
Valuation Assessment
The trailing P/E ratio is listed as N/A and the forward P/E is also N/A, which implies that the company has not generated positive earnings over the trailing period to calculate a standard valuation multiple, making it impossible to derive a traditional earnings-based valuation. The price-to-book ratio is 1.11, indicating that the market values the company at a slight premium of 11% over its net book value, despite the negative earnings that typically depress such multiples. Alternative valuation metrics show a price-to-sales ratio of 0.04 and an EV/EBITDA of -7.74, suggesting that the market is pricing the stock at a fraction of its sales revenue and that the enterprise value relative to earnings is negative due to the lack of profitability. The 52-week high is $1.17 and the 52-week low is $0.28, meaning the current share price sits somewhere within this range, reflecting high volatility typical of micro-cap energy stocks with no earnings to anchor valuation. The beta value is 0.56, which indicates that the stock price is less volatile than the broader market, moving with lower sensitivity to general market fluctuations compared to a benchmark beta of 1.0.
Growth & Income
The revenue growth year-over-year is -4.4%, while the earnings growth year-over-year is N/A due to the negative net income, meaning there is no positive earnings growth to compare against the revenue decline. Since the company does not pay dividends, evidenced by a dividend yield of N/A and a payout ratio of 0.0%, it does not distribute earnings to shareholders, as there are no earnings to distribute in the first place. Instead of paying dividends, the company retains its cash flow, though currently negative, which theoretically would be reinvested into growth initiatives if profitability were achieved, but currently contributes to the cash burn. The overall growth and income profile is characterized by negative revenue growth, a complete absence of dividend income, and negative earnings that prevent any traditional growth or income metrics from being positive.