Samudera proposes S$0.2425 special dividend as H2 profit surges 63.6%
Michelle Zhu
SAMUDERA Shipping Line posted a net profit of US$150.3 million for the second half ended December 2022, rising 63.6 per cent from US$91.8 million in H2 FY2021.
This brings the shipping services operator’s full-year profit to US$322 million, up 150.5 per cent from US$128.6 million in FY2021. Earnings per share (EPS) stood at US$0.5985, more than twice of FY2021’s EPS of US$0.239.
Its board of directors on Monday (Feb 27) proposed a special dividend per share of S$0.2425, which is higher than the S$0.1275 special dividend declared for FY2021.
On top of a proposed final dividend of S$0.0075 and an interim dividend of S$0.07, this brings the group’s full-year payout to S$0.32 per share.
Revenue for H2 FY2022 rose 61.8 per cent year on year to US$514.4 million, from US$317.9 million. This was due to the improvements in utilisations and rates across all business segments, particularly the container shipping segment.
Revenue for the container shipping segment grew 61.1 per cent to US$498.5 million, as average freight rates were significantly higher than in FY2021. This was largely attributed to demand for shipping services outpacing supply, particularly for the shipment of carrier-owned container cargo.
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Container volumes handled grew 30 per cent on-year to 964,000 twenty-foot equivalent units over the half-year period.
Meanwhile, revenue from the bulk and tanker segment grew 155.3 per cent to US$6.6 million after taking into account the deployment of two recently acquired chemical tankers.
The agency and logistics business also registered a 51.1 per cent higher revenue growth compared to H2 of FY2021. This was driven by an increase in agency activities as well as contribution from a third-party logistics subsidiary in Indonesia, which the group acquired a controlling stake in May 2022.
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In line with the higher group revenue, cost of sales for H2 grew 59.7 per cent to US$344.4 million from US$215.7 million previously.
Other operating income was down 74.4 per cent on year to US$485,000 versus US$1.9 million the previous year, in the absence of net foreign exchange gains and a gain on disposal of assets held for sale booked in H2 of FY2021.
While marketing expenses and administrative expenses more than doubled from the previous year, other operating expenses fell 80.1 per cent to US$824,000 from US$4.1 million upon the exclusion of an impairment made on two tankers back in FY2021.
For FY2022, the group reported a revenue of US$990.6 million, up 88 per cent from US$527 million in FY2021.
Samudera expects prevailing geopolitical and economic headwinds to weigh on cargo demand and freight rates.
The group anticipates more newbuild capacity to come onstream this year and in 2024, while bunker costs remain high amid ongoing geopolitical conflicts and China’s gradual increase in economic recovery.
Shares of Samudera were down S$0.14 or 10.5 per cent at S$1.20 as at the midday break on Tuesday.
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