Shipbroker Braemar ACM has enjoyed an improved first quarter performance helped by a strong showing in the newbuilding market, its London listed parent told the City this morning.
Braemar Shipping Services also pointed to an active period for its financial division in a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting today.
It said Braemar ACM had performed “well” and “ahead of budget” compared with the first quarter of its last fiscal year.
“Our newbuilding activity has been strong in recent months and has added to the forward order book,” Braemar said.
“The Dry Cargo chartering rates started the year weakly because of the Brazilian iron ore supply interruptions and Tanker chartering has been impacted by a combination of weaker oil demand and unusually high delivery of new vessels.
“However, we are now starting to see improvements in both markets. Market indicators and forward rates suggest these improvements will continue over the balance of the year.”
While no numbers were released in the update, Braemar ACM delivered an underlying profit of £9.3m on revenue of £75.7m in the last fiscal year.
Braemar’s finance arm, which is involved in restructuring and bank debt portfolio sales, has been active across a wide range of business.
“Our retainer fee base remains strong, although revenue will mainly be driven by the ability to deliver success fess from completed projects which can be difficult to predict,” it said.
While Logistics results for the first quarter have been weaker than forecast, Braemar added: “Overall, the first quarter has begun in line with our expectations and we continue to be positive about the prospects for the remainder of the year.”
Shares in the shipbroker climbed 2.5% to £1.825 each this morning against a high of £2.10 in the past month.
