Klaveness Marine saw its profit slide in 2019 but posted a NOK 375m ($41.7m) jump in its its value-adjusted equity.
The privately-owned Norwegian company's chief executive, Jon Christian Syvertsen, said the outfit delivered good results across its three business units: real estate, financial investments and shipping.
The company reported value-adjusted equity of NOK 4.15bn as of the end of 2019, an improvement compared to nearly NOK 3.78bn a year earlier.
The diversified company had a pre-tax profit of NOK 261m last year, down from NOK 329m in 2018.
Syvertsen told Norwegian news daily Finansavisen that the company is not unaffected by the coronavirus-fuelled downturn, and values in its finance portfolio have taken a hit.
He said it is impossible today to say how much the virus will impact the full-year result.
“We have to concentrate on what we are able to handle, namely to operate as best we can,” he told the newspaper.
The maritime division represented 28% of the K’s portfolio.
Among the company's shipping positions is a 50% stake in Norwegian Car Carriers, in which US bank JP Morgan controls the other half. The vehicle carrier operator company showed a loss in 2019. Klaveness Marine also has 19.4% stake in Songa Container, which has 15 boxships.
Klaveness Marine also has stakes in three LNG carriers and a newbuilding in partnership with Knutsen OAS Shipping.
Syvertsen’s total renumeration increased from NOK 7.4m in 2018 to NOK 10.1m.
The company demerged from Torvald Klaveness in 2011. While Tom Erik Klaveness controls Klaveness Marine, his younger brother Trond Harald took over Torvald Klaveness, controlling the traditional bulker activities not least through Oslo-listed Klaveness Combined Carriers and containerships.
