Wilh Wilhelmsen Holding has reported a surge in profits boosted by its key shipping joint ventures.
Net profit to equity holders of the Oslo-listed holding company of Norwegian maritime conglomerate Wilhelmsen, rose to $89m for the second quarter, up from $8m in the first quarter. Revenue jumped to $224m, from $201m in the first three months of the year.
“We saw positive development in all our operating companies in the second quarter, resulting in higher income, Ebitda and profit,” group chief executive Thomas Wilhelmsen said.
But it was investments, not Wilh Wilhelmsen's operating segments, that mainly drove the bottom-line gain in the holding company.
The investments divisions, the source of over 85% of the profits, have significant shareholdings in two major shipowners, worth some $1.568bn together at the end of the second quarter.
The value of its 11% stake in South Korean shipowner Hyundai Glovis had surged to $763m by the reporting date. Wilh Wilhelmsen accounted for the gain in the fair value of its Hyundai Glovis stock as $77m.
The next-biggest piece of Wilh Wilhelmsen's quarterly bottom line was a $5m share of the profits of car carrier owner Wallenius Wilhelmsen, in which the Norwegian company and Swedish partner Wallenius Lines remain the largest shareholders. Wilh Wilhelmsen's 37.8% shareholding in Wallenius Wilhelmsen was worth $805m at the end of the quarter.
The investments division's total earnings of $94m becomes $73m when adjusted to eliminate non-minority shareholder interest.
Operating profits
The company's two operating segments, maritime services and new energy, also turned in positive and improved results.
Maritime services contributed $10m profit to equity holders. Ship supplier Wilhelmsen Ship Service turned in total revenue of $123m, while technical manager Wilhelmsen Ship Management delivered $12m.
The companies in the new-energy segment, including offshore industry supplier and logistics company NorSea Group, NorSea Wind, Edda Wind and several smaller ventures, reported $85m in total revenue. Wilh Wilhelmsen has different ownership shares in the new-energy companies and the profit to equity holders in this segment was $6m.
Family feud
The profits come amid a Norwegian family feud over the control of Wilh Wilhelmsen Holding, or more precisely over the control of the companies that own the holding company.
Wilh Wilhelmsen and its chief executive have spent much of this year and last battling in the Norwegian press and in court over the rights of family members who have a large indirect equity stake, but no voting control, under a structure designed to perpetuate operational control under a single heir.
However, all parties have partaken of the fruits of improved performance.
During the second quarter, the company approved and paid a dividend of NOK 5 ($0.56) per share. That included an extraordinary dividend of NOK 2 per share to make up for the reduced payment in May 2020 due to market uncertainty over Covid-19.
