8th May 2015 11:23
LONDON (Alliance News) - Shipping services company Clarkson PLC Friday said it had made a "solid start" to the 2015 but warned that the outlook for the industry remains mixed in the short term.
"Overall, Clarksons has made a solid start to the year in the face of a number of material headwinds. Shipping and offshore is a multi-cyclical business and the challenges witnessed in a number of our markets at the end of 2014, arising from a demand supply imbalance and the reduced oil price environment, have continued into the first half of this year," Chairman James Hughes-Hallett said in a statement to be given to shareholders at the company's annual meeting.
"The near term industry outlook remains mixed and the challenges in some of our markets continue. The delivery profile of our activities in broking and financial will result in a weighting in performance towards the second half of the year. We do however anticipate further growth in activity levels in a number of key areas of our business," Hughes-Hallett said.
Clarkson said the integration of RS Platou ASA is going according to plan, following the acquisition of the shipping broker and investment banking rival for GBP281.2 million late in 2014.
"The acquisition of Platou's investment banking and project finance business transforms the scale and shape of our financial operations and our combined teams are now focussed on leveraging the substantial opportunities this brings. Activity levels in the capital markets were generally quieter in the first quarter, however they have now started to improve and we are currently working on a significant number of live mandates in restructuring, public and private equity financing, M&A and general advisory," Hughes-Hallett said.
Clarkson's broking division saw pressure in dry bulk markets, while low oil prices mean Clarkson is expecting activity in the offshore markets to move into the second half of 2015. The tanker and specialised products team of the broking unit have seen "increased" activity levels, according to Clarkson, while the sale and purchase team "remains active across the sectors and we continue to develop our already strong position in the container market where we see long term opportunities".
On its support activities, Clarkson said: "Our port services business has delivered a steady performance. Dry bulk shipments at UK ports have seen continued improvement but as anticipated, our northern England and Scotland offshore oil and gas related revenues remain suppressed, with activity levels still low."
The research business had higher sales between the start of 2015 and May 7, Clarkson said.
Clarkson shares were up 4.1% at 2,343.00 pence on Friday.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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