Many car carrier owners are bleeding cash due to a market slump that has led them to lay up tonnage, but Norway's JB Ugland group appears unaffected by the crisis.
The Grimstad-based company owns five small car carriers, in addition to a partly owned ship, that are all covered by long-term bareboat charters to Japan’s K Line and United European Car Carriers. The vessels are between 950 ceu and 2,000 ceu and were built between 1998 and 2000.
Company chief executive Johan Martin Ugland said these bareboat deals remain unchanged and operational decisions for the ships, such as lay-ups, lie with the charterers.
Growth ambitions
JB Ugland previously expressed it has faith in the car carrier business, with its chief executive saying that it has ambitions of building its shipping activities further.
Speaking last week, he said: “We are monitoring the situation and will consider possibilities in this market.”
Meanwhile, group holding company JB Ugland Holding reported a pre-tax profit of NOK 217m ($21.7m) in 2019, down from NOK 319m in 2018.
At the end of 2019, the firm had a book equity of NOK 1.07bn.
JB Ugland Holding is controlled by Ugland's father, Johan Benad Ugland. Shipping now plays a minor part in the company, which is also involved in real estate, renewables and other investments. JB Ugland sold its shipping activities at the peak of the market in January 2008 to India’s Siva Group for $300m.
Johan Benad Ugland is a third-generation shipowner, the eldest son of the late Andreas KL Ugland, whose father Johan Milmar established Uglands Rederi in 1930.
