Small bulker shipowner Wilson has beaten the downturn in the market, in contrast to those with larger dry cargo tonnage.
The Norwegian company, which is controlled by the Kristian Eidesvik outfit Caiano, has reported a pre-tax profit of €16.2m ($18.5m) for 2018, up from €8.2m in 2017.
Gross revenue increased from €264m to €274m. The contract coverage for Wilson was 55.8% in the fourth quarter of last year.
The Bergen-based company has a market value of about NOK 920m ($107m).
Wilson operates a fleet of 117 bulkers of between 1,500 dwt and 8,500 dwt.
Owned bulkers
Eighty-nine of these ships are in the owned fleet, which is the highest proportion in the Bergen-based company’s history.
The results improved from 2017 and Wilson expects the trend to continue.
Managing director Oyvind Gjerde said growth on the supply side is limited. He stressed that a stable European economy is necessary for the results to continue improving in the coming years.
Last year, Wilson increased its owned fleet by buying six small bulkers from the Stromberg group for NOK 94m enbloc.
The 2,500-dwt to 2,700-dwt ships, built between 1995 and 1997, were already commercially operated by Wilson.
Payments were made in Wilson shares, which meant that Caiano’s shareholding was reduced from 89.9% to about 86%.
