19th May 2015 08:54
LONDON (Alliance News) - Braemar Shipping Services PLC on Tuesday said its pretax profit nearly halved in the year to the end of February as exceptional costs related to the acquisition of ACM Shipping Group PLC offset a rise in revenue in the year.
Braemar, which provides broking, consultancy, technical and other services to the shipping and energy industries, said its pretax profit fell to GBP4.8 million in the year, down from GBP9 million a year earlier, due to GBP6.1 million in costs related to the ACM Shipping acquisition and restructuring of its Shipbroking arm.
Those one-off costs, in addition to a higher cost of sales, offset a 16% rise in revenue for the group in the first half, up to GBP145.8 million from GBP125.5 million, driven by higher revenue in its technical and logistics divisions and an improvement in the performance of the shipbroking business in the second half following the ACM deal.
The group's shipbroking order book at the end of the financial year was up by 5% to USD589 million.
Braemar said it would maintain its dividend payout for the year at 26 pence per share in total, including an unchanged 17 pence final dividend.
The company expects its shipbroking business to benefit from the integration of ACM in the coming year, along with associated improvements in the efficiency of the division. It also expects improved tanker markets and benefits from the strength of the US dollar to balance the impact of the lower oil price on the division.
"Our objective is to build the Braemar brand to be the most valued provider of knowledge and skill based services to the shipping and offshore markets on a global basis. The merger with ACM, developing stronger broking teams globally, has been a significant step in this direction, but it is far from the last. We will continue to look to expand in all divisions," said James Kidwell, Braemar's chief executive.
Shares in Braemar were up 0.2% to 490.00 pence on Tuesday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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