Braemar’s head of handysize and supramax has left the shipbroking group to join Peter Livanos’ dry cargo concern, DryLog Trading.
Fred Mack will join the outfit early next year as a freight trader in London after finishing at Braemar on 18 October.
Mack told TradeWinds the opportunity was too good to miss, but thanked Braemar head of dry cargo Ben Bates and chief executive James Gundy for their support.
“I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about Braemar. Both Ben Bates and James Gundy have been extremely understanding with this transition,” Mack said.
“My leaving has nothing to do with Braemar as a company, as I have thoroughly enjoyed my time there and as a director, I’ve got to know personally all the people coming through the ranks and am confident the right team is there at all levels to continue to push the company forward.
“For my personal career, an opportunity to work at a company like DryLog with the team they have in place there and to work on the trading side was just too good to pass up and I’m very excited to get started.”
DryLog has had a freight trading presence in London for some time, after acquiring EDF & Man Trading in 2020.
The entity today is known as DryLog Trading and focuses mainly on supramax freight derivatives. It sits alongside the company’s shipowning activities, which are handled by Bermuda-registered DryLog Ltd.
DryLog Trading, which also has an office in Singapore, is headed by freight trader Matthew Summerson.
The company saw profit before tax fall by 92% to $2.4m last year, in comparison with 2022 when freight markets were much stronger.
Revenue fell 38% year on year to $243m, according to financial records filed with the UK’s Companies House.
“The financial year 2023 was significantly weaker than the two preceding years, with the Baltic Supramax Index [BSI] averaging at half the levels recorded in 2022,” DryLog Trading said in its end-of-year report.
“Consequently, operating margins were much narrower and our opportunities to generate profit were reduced.
“BSI rates were placed under intense pressure primarily by decelerating global economic growth, higher interest rates and decreased port congestion in China.”
There were no dividends for 2023, following $30m in distributions to shareholders the previous year.
DryLog Trading’s balance sheet at the end of last year showed $41.8m in assets against $76.3m in liabilities, of which just over $39m relates to its fleet of long-term leased vessels.
The company said “macroeconomic disturbance” in 2024 will be supportive of freight rates, which it intends to use to its advantage in trading.
DryLog Trading moved its tax domicile to Malta at the end of September last year.
Parent company DryLog Ltd is owned by Peter Livanos’ Ceres Shipping.
