NYK Line, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and K Line are set to share almost $1.7bn in dividends courtesy of liner subsidiary Ocean Network Express (ONE).
NYK Line will receive a payout of ¥72.9bn ($641m), while MOL and K Line will each receive $523m, the shipowners said on Thursday.
The dividend is expected to be paid on or around 15 November, the shipowners added.
NYK Line takes a larger cut of the dividends due to its 38% shareholding in ONE, while the two other shipowners control stakes of 31% each.
This is believed to be only the second time that the three partners have received a dividend from Singapore-headquartered ONE since its establishment in 2017.
In March, MOL, NYK Line and K Line received a total of $500m in dividends from ONE for the 2020 financial year, according to industry analysts.
NYK Line received roughly $190m, while MOL and K Line each received about $155m.
The total dividend equated to a payout ratio of roughly 20% of ONE’s net profit for the full financial year, according to analysts at Japan’s Mizuho Securities.
At the end of October, Jeremy Nixon-led ONE reported a first-half profit of more than $6.7bn on the back of a stellar second-quarter performance.
The increase in its performance was due mainly to the continuing strong market, with global container trade volumes in July to September increasing by nearly 10% year on year.
ONE reported a full-year profit after tax of $11.7bn on the back of the continued strong market. Full-year profit in 2020 was $3.48bn.
On Wednesday, TradeWinds reported that the windfall enjoyed by three of Japan’s largest publicly listed shipowners will go towards funding their plans for green low-emission ships.
The trio are reported to be looking to fund their technically advanced newbuildings rather than charter in vessels from their traditional local tonnage suppliers.
However, analysts have also suggested that any dividends would also go towards repairing the balance sheets of the three companies.
Nomura Japan transport analyst Masaharu Hirokane has previously stated that none of ONE’s three shareholders have "particularly solid parent balance sheets".
MOL has recently reported a near-tenfold increase in first-half net profit to ¥274.8bn. NYK Line and K Line are due to report their results this week.
