Higher returns from the investment portfolio helped boost first half profits at Ocean Wilsons (OCN), a Bermuda-based investment and maritime services company. The investment portfolio increased to $278m (£230m) from $259m at the 2018 year-end, as markets rallied following a soft end to last year.
Overall performance was held in check due to OCN's exposure to the faltering Brazilian economy, evidenced by an $8m year-on-year fall in net operating cash flow to $47.6m.
Revenue contracted due to an unfavourable real to dollar exchange rate and deteriorating trading conditions at some of its businesses, most notably port terminals and logistics, where sales were down 9 per cent to $118m, while container terminal revenue declined 10 per cent to $80.6m despite an increase in volumes.
Capital expenditure nearly doubled to $44.6m during the period as the company spent more on the expansion of Tecon Salvador container terminal, which contributed to the decline in net cash flow. However, profitability benefited from a sharp reduction in the cost of raw materials and consumables, down 39 per cent to $12.9m.
Consensus forecasts collated by Bloomberg give EPS of 86ȼ during 2019, increasing to 93ȼ in 2020.
| OCEAN WILSONS HOLDINGS (OCN) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,005p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 356m | |
| TOUCH: | 980-1,030p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,280p | LOW: 985p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.8% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 1,580ȼ | NET DEBT: | 35% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (ȼ) |
| 2018 | 235 | 27.7 | 28.4 | nil |
| 2019 | 199 | 47.1 | 79.5 | nil |
| % change | -15 | +70 | +180 | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| £1=$1.21 | ||||
