Clarksons chief executive Andi Case remains as ambitious for his company as ever.
Fresh from posting a third consecutive year of record earnings on Monday, the London-listed shipbroker is in a “fabulous position” in the market, he believes.
Cash told TradeWinds: “We’re forward-leaning people, so once you set records, you aim to break them. Why wouldn’t you?
“That’s how we’re set up. We’ve been investing across the group,” he added.
The CEO, who is also a working broker, said 2024 has started well for the London-headquartered shop.
“We look forward with excitement — we’re ready to go. Our teams are at it,” he said.
Case explained the business is reviewed strategically every quarter.
“We highlight key hires that we’re trying to make,” he told TradeWinds.
The boss said the group is not specifically trying to grow overseas at the expense of the UK, even though most of its expansion over the past 10 years has been in foreign territories.
“London was responsible for a large percentage of the growth 10 years ago and it’s still the powerhouse,” Case said.
Backup teams ready
“We seek to grow in all regions,” he added, noting more business being done in Dubai, India and China.
“Anything that the market is looking to do, we look at putting our global service division behind them to help us deliver that service,” Case said.
Cash is available for mergers and acquisitions, the company has said.
“We’re looking at things across the globe. Sometimes you can get a business, sometimes you can’t — you have to have a willing buyer and a willing seller,” Case added.
“Sometimes things don’t tally up, but you can bring on board a lot of good capacity by hiring talented people,” he said.
Clarksons logged a net profit of £85.8m ($108.7m) for 2023, up from £79.6m in 2022.
Record underlying pre-tax earnings were £109.2m, compared with £100.9m the year before.
