London ship broker Clarkson’s shares fell after revealed the impact of geopolitical tensions on its business today, as it stood by its outlook for the full year and revealed a drop in half-year profits.
The St Katharine dock firm said “disruption at both the Suez and Panama Canals supported elevated rates ... in the petrochemical gas sector”.
Overall, profit before tax for the period fell to £51.5 million, down from £53.1 million from revenue of £310.1 million, down from £321.1 million. It stood by its profit guidance for the full year.
Shares in the firm headed south, down by almost 870p to 3500p, a drop of almost 20%.
The £1.3 billion firm also kept up its long record of increasing its dividend, for the twenty-second consecutive year. It upped the payout for investors to 32p per share, from 30p. Earnings per share for the period fell to 124.6p from 130.5p.
Clarkson also said that “with disruption at the Panama Canal starting to ease and the US-Asia arbitrage narrowing, markets may now be starting to normalise” in this part of the business,
An “an ageing fleet’ meant it expected the petrochemical freight market to find “some underlying support”.
Carrier Rates for liquified natural gas (LNG) “softened” in the first half, with some key prices “down 35% year-on-year”.
It added:
“LNG carrier transits were down 84% and 93% year on year respectively in the first half, which led to longer voyages and boosted vessel demand.”
Clarkson said that the tanker market “remained strong”, with its “average tanker earnings index averaging $44,431 per day”.
