UK shipbroking giant Clarksons is poised to surprise the market with a better-than-expected annual profit.
The London-listed company said on Friday that it enjoyed “strong trading” throughout the fourth quarter of 2022.
The core shipbroking division in particular has prospered, leading it to forecast underlying group profit before tax of not less than £98m ($116m) to 31 December, beating current market expectations.
Clarksons’ underlying profit before tax was £42.2m for the first half of 2022, up from £27.5m in the same period of 2021.
The full annual results will be reported on 6 March.
The stock was trading up 4% in London on Friday at £32.75 per share.
In the summer, Clarksons reported blockbuster results from the broking division that helped the group finish the first half with a record profit, despite the challenges to markets posed by Russia’s war in Ukraine and disruptions to seaborne trade.
Shipbroking logged profit of £47m for the first six months, up by 55% from a year earlier.
Just after the interim results were published, the broker reshuffled its board.
Peter Backhouse stepped down as a senior independent director after nine years. He has 40 years of experience in the international energy business and was previously chairman and chief executive of BP Europe.
Sue Harris, who has been an independent non-executive director since October 2020, replaced him as a senior independent director.
