Indonesian shipowner Samudera Shipping is to reward investors with a bumper dividend after its 2022 full-year profit surged almost 150%.
The Singapore-listed shipowner said net profit for the 12 months was $323.1m, against the $130.1m seen in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Improvements in container volumes handled and freight rates helped Samudera increase revenue by 88% year on year to $990.6m.
Container shipping revenues were up 88.8% to $963.4m on significantly higher average freight rates, while container volumes increased 28.5% to 1.9m teu.
“While freight rates softened in the second half of 2022, average freight rates for the year were significantly higher than that for 2021, as demand for shipping services outpaced supply, especially for the shipment of carrier-owned container cargo,” Samudera said.
The deployment of two additional chemical tankers during the year helped increase revenue in the bulker and tanker segments by 87.1% to $10.7m.
“The prevailing geopolitical and economic headwinds are expected to weigh down on cargo demand and freight rates, as global inflationary and recessionary risks dampen consumers’ purchasing power,” Samudera said.
“On the supply side, the reduction in port congestion in recent months has returned capacity to the market, while more newbuild capacity is expected to come on stream this year and into 2024.”
Meanwhile, bunker costs are expected to remain high amid ongoing geopolitical conflicts and China’s gradual increase in economic recovery.
Samudera said the group will be taking delivery of its four container ship newbuildings, on long-term charters, in the first half of 2023 as part of its effort to rejuvenate its fleet.
It has also entered into an agreement to purchase two 1,900-teu container vessel newbuildings for $66m, which are due to be delivered between late 2024 and early 2025.
Samudera said its chemical tanker fleet remains gainfully employed and it will continue to look for opportunities to grow its operations in this segment.
Looking ahead, Samudera said it intends to continue with its strategy of prudence in cost management and asset investment, while remaining nimble in its operations.
Samudera said it would declare a special one-tier tax-exempt cash dividend of SGD 0.2425 per share in view of the “outstanding results and performance of the group” for 2022.
Samudera’s owned fleet includes 27 container ships, four chemical tankers and a single gas carrier.
