Samudera Shipping Line declares 12.75 Singapore cents special dividend as FY2021 net profit rises

SAMUDERA Shipping Line S56 on Thursday (Feb 24) posted a net profit of US$128.6 million for the full year ended Dec 31, 2021, from US$7.2 million the year before due to better performance from its container shipping segment a a result of higher freight rates.

The board has a special dividend of 12.75 Singapore cents , higher than the 0.30 cent special dividend declared the previous year. A final dividend of 0.75 cent was also proposed, unchanged from the corresponding period the previous year.

With the severe congestion at ports around the world, Samudera is expecting upward pressure on freight rates as well as robust demand for shipping services given the gradual reopening of economies globally.

This will also mean higher operating costs and costs associated with delays in vessel turnaround, said Samudera in its financial statement.

As such, the company has secured a total of 6 new container vessels on long-term charter in order to minimise the service disruptions. Two of these have been deployed while the remaining will be delivered progressively from the fourth quarter of 2022, said Samudera.

Revenue rose 51.5 per cent to US$527 million in FY2021 from US$347.9 million the year before due to stronger contributions from the container shipping segment.

Revenue from the container shipping segment grew 53.7 per cent to US$510.3 million for the full year, due to a marked improvement in freight rates as demand for shipping services outpaced capacity supply, especially for the shipments of carrier-owned container cargo.

Meanwhile, revenue from the the bulk and tanker segment decreased 16.1 per cent to US$5.7 million from US$6.8 million the previous year.

Despite a significantly higher revenue, cost of services increased at a slower pace of 19.4 per cent to US$380 million versus the US$318.3 million FY2020, with Samudera attributing this to the group's "prudent cost management".

Other operating income came in at US$4.1million, higher that the S$900,000 the previous year. This is largely due to the US$2.5 million gain from the divestment of aging container vessels and containers as part of the group's fleet rejuvenation effort.

Contributions from its associate company also grew 32.4 per cent to US$2.3 million in FY2021 mainly on the back of lower interest expenses incurred.

Earnings per share for the latest financial year stood at 23.90 US cents versus the 1.34 cents the year before.

Net asset value per share came in at 59.20 US cents as at Dec 31, 2021, higher than the 36.32 cents as at end-2020.

Shares of Samudera ended Thursday flat at S$0.575.