14th Aug 2019 13:58
(Alliance News) - Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd on Wednesday said its revenue fell in the first half of 2019, but profit was boosted by cost reductions.
The Brazilian maritime services company operator said pretax profit for the six months to the end of June rose to USD47.1 million from USD27.7 million, despite revenue slipping by 15% to USD199.2 million from USD235.0 million.
In the first half of 2019, Ocean Wilson said it has secured a higher return on its investment portfolio of GBP22.8 million compared to GBP4.1 million a year earlier. Meanwhile, the cost of raw materials and consumables was reduced to USD12.9 million from USD21.1 million year-on-year.
Ocean Wilsons explained that its revenue fell due to the higher average real to dollar exchange rate and "difficult" trading environment at some of its businesses.
Looking ahead, Ocean Wilsons said the Brazilian economy remains sluggish with little prospect of improvement in 2019.
"The company remains focused on increasing cash flow and improving capacity utilisation across all businesses in order to maximise stakeholder value whilst maintaining our relentless commitment to safety," added Cezar Baiao, chief executive of operations in Brazil.
Ocean Wilsons shares were trading 8.0% lower on Wednesday in London at 980.00 pence each.
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