Top executives at the ship management arm of London-Greek shipowner Lomar saw their pay rise in 2022 despite the company falling into the red.
The latest accounts filed at Companies House in the UK show Lomar Shipping Ltd (LSL) made a net loss of £443,000 ($540,000), down from a profit of £3.83m in 2021.
LSL manages the fleet of the Lomar parent entity and does not typically manage vessels for other owners, the company told TradeWinds.
Lomar is part of the New York-headquartered and Bermuda-incorporated Libra Group, which is owned by George Logothetis and is active in six sectors including aerospace and maritime.
“Key management personnel” of LSL were paid £2.9m, up from £2.2m in 2021. The highest-paid director received £1.1m, up from £809,000 the year before.
The two directors now are LSL chief executive Nicholas Georgiou and CFO Mark Kethisouaran. There were three directors in 2022, including Georgiou, but not Kethisouaran.
LSL’s revenue, which comprises management fees and commissions, was down at £7.8m against £10.7m year on year.
The fall was due to a reduction in commissions earned on charter lease contracts and sales of vessels under management, the company said. There were 59 staff at the London operation, up from 58 on average in 2021.
“Over the last three years, Lomar’s fleet has reduced after the widely reported strategic sale of container ships during the shipping boom that generated $2bn of income,” Lomar told TradeWinds.
“Lomar’s track record speaks for itself, and we look forward to sharing the next phase of Lomar’s fleet expansion, which has already seen an expansion of the dry bulk fleet with nine vessels delivered in the last 12 months,” Lomar added.
Big mixed fleet
LSL said it aims to provide “sustainable and cost-effective” operations.
“This is managed by strong focus and continual review of the operating costs incurred by vessels under commercial management,” it added.
Lomar has invested more than $1bn in 43 eco container ship and bulker newbuilding at Chinese yards.
At its peak, before its divestment programme, Lomar had a diversified fleet with an average age of about seven years comprising about 40 boxships, bulkers, and chemical and product tankers.
LSL said the Covid pandemic and office refurbishment continued to have an impact in 2022. The operating loss was £357,000, down from a profit of £4.75m in 2021. LSL paid no dividend for 2022, unchanged from the previous year.
Net assets were down to £1.4m from £2.5m.
