Torm chief executive Jacob Meldgaard has cashed in his shares in strong markets, but still has a “significant interest” in the company’s performance.
A filing revealed that he sold 510,610 A-shares in Torm for a total of about DKK 110m ($16.1m) between 10 and 14 November.
A spokesman for the Oaktree Capital Management-controlled company explained that, given the total of more than 84m Torm shares outstanding, it was not a “significant percentage holding”.
But Meldgaard has more shares pending in the form of 810,401 restricted stock units (RSUs).
“What is important to note here is that despite Jacob [selling] his … shares in Torm, he has 810,401 RSUs waiting,” the spokesman said.
“So Jacob indeed has a significant interest in ensuring Torm continues to deliver top performance and returns value to its shareholders.”
The stock was trading down 4.7% at DKK 218.40 in Copenhagen on Tuesday morning.
The market cap stands at DKK 18.9bn.
The shares have risen 406% over five years.
Meldgaard has overseen a series of vessel acquisitions in recent years.
The latest was the eight LR2s bought this month from Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi and Hayfin Capital, with shares comprising part of the $399m settlement.
Net profit in the third quarter was slashed to $124.3m from $217.1m the year before.
Time charter equivalent earnings dropped to $244.4m, against $316.8m in 2022.
But Torm still managed its best-ever nine-month profit of $463.4m, up from $334.1m a year earlier, despite a temporary drop in freight rates over the summer.
