London-listed Braemar Shipping Services is beating its own forecasts for the year as strength continues in bulker and boxship markets.
And the UK shipbroker expects the boom to continue for the rest of this year.
In a trading update for the six months to 31 August, the company said the board was "encouraged" by the performance so far, which is "well ahead" of the comparable period last year.
"The board is pleased to see its recent investment in people to increase the strength and diversity of services offered to clients paying dividends," Braemar said.
The group took a more positive tone following its annual results in June, restoring dividend payments.
Braemar is now "modestly ahead of those upgraded expectations", the company said.
Shipbroking was strong and has benefited from the investment in recent years to build the dry cargo and securities desks, which have both achieved a good trading performance, Braemar added.
The sale-and-purchase desk has also been very active on the back of the buoyant dry bulk and container markets.
"As anticipated, the tanker market continues to be affected by the pandemic-related weaker demand for oil, in comparison with the exceptional conditions seen in the previous year that were driven by demand for storage capacity," said Braemar.
Tanker desk improves
But the company added that overall revenue and profits for the period were higher than in the comparative period last year.
Boom times for S&P, dry cargo and securities look set to continue in the second half of the year as demand for dry bulk and container capacity remains high, the company believes.
"Whilst the tanker market remains flat, there are already indications that demand will strengthen as global demand for oil increases," Braemar said.
The broker's forward orderbook has increased in the first half of the year and is expected to close the period at $56m, compared with the $43m seen at the beginning of the period.
Braemar is forecasting revenue and profit for the full year will beat the previous 12 months.
'Resurgent interest'
The company has also noted a "resurgent interest" in shipping from both a lending and equity investment point of view.
This has meant that the financial division, Braemar Naves, had a successful first half of the year.
Several restructuring opportunities and one significant leasing transaction in the container market were closed during the period, and revenue will consequently be significantly higher than in the first half of last year.
Current activity levels point to a strong year as a whole, the group added.
The company beat market consensus and its own forecasts with net profit of £5.1m ($7.2m) in the year to 28 February, against £4m in the previous 12 months.
Revenue dipped to £111.8m from £117.6m, but it booked a £2.2m profit on selling half its stake in LNG and LPG consultancy AqualisBraemar in the period. The rest of the shares were sold later in 2021.
