Eimskip announces 2013 results
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Operating revenue EUR 433.8 million, up by 2.4% from 2012
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Operating profit, EBITDA, EUR 37.1 million, down by 9.1% from adjusted EBITDA in 2012
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Equity ratio was 65.5% at the end of the year
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Transported volume in North Atlantic liner services up by 3.4% from 2012
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Transported volume in reefer forwarding services up by 7.9% from 2012
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The Board proposes a dividend payment representing 30.0% of net earnings for the year
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Forecasted EBITDA for the year 2014 in the range of EUR 37 to 41 million
Gylfi Sigfússon, President and CEO
“We believe that overall the results of 2013 reflect the tough economic environment in Iceland. Adverse weather conditions in the North Atlantic and mechanical issues with a few of our vessels in the fourth quarter put our sailing schedule out of order and negatively impacted our results. For the full year, revenues amounted to EUR 433.8 million and grew by 2.4% from 2012. EBITDA amounted to EUR 37.1 million which equals 9.1% decrease from previous year, taking into account one-off items in 2012. Performance of our international operations did show good results, but our operations in Iceland were below our expectations.
Transported volume in our North Atlantic liner services grew by 3.4% from 2012. Transported volume to and from Iceland remained stable but there was growth in volume related to the Faroe Islands and Norway, which are a part of our home market in the North Atlantic, and volume between Europe and North America grew. Volume in the company’s reefer forwarding services increased by 7.9% compared to previous year, mainly due to increased Intra Asian transport and transport from Europe to Asia.
Eimskip introduced substantial changes in its sailing schedule in March 2013 which increased the capacity of the system and in February 2014 we decided to make some further adjustments partly due to negative effect of bad weather conditions in recent months. A new sailing route, the Gray line, has been added between the Faroe Islands and Scotland in order to increase the flexibility of the sailing schedule and increase service reliability. It is important to be able to respond to requirements of customers with an efficient and flexible system.
Eimskip has negotiated a further delay of delivery of the two container vessels which are currently being built in China. It is expected that the first vessel will be in service as from the middle of this year but there is still uncertainty regarding the delivery of the second vessel which will presumably not be delivered until late this year. Related to the delay, Eimskip has negotiated a USD 10.8 million reduction of the vessels’ total purchase price. The delay of delivery will neither affect the sailing schedule nor services to Eimskip’s customers. It will however extend chartering of vessels since the new vessels are expected to replace two vessels which are currently chartered by the company.
The company is seeking opportunities to grow, especially outside Iceland and is working on various projects in relation to strategic acquisitions in line with the company’s vision of being a leading transportation company in the North Atlantic. As part of this strategy Eimskip is in correspondence with the Central Bank of Iceland, the Oslo Stock Exchange and other foreign stock exchanges for potential dual listing of the company’s shares.
The Board of Directors proposes a dividend payment to shareholders in 2014 in the amount of ISK 2.60 per share. The total dividend payment is ISK 504.6 million, or EUR 3.2 million, which represents 30.0% of net earnings for the year 2013.
Our EBITDA forecast for the year 2014 is in the range of EUR 37 to 41 million.”
Further information
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Gylfi Sigfússon, President and CEO, tel.: +354 525 7202
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Hilmar Pétur Valgardsson, CFO, tel.: +354 525 7202
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Erna Eiríksdóttir, Senior Manager of Investor Relations, tel.: +354 825 7220, email: investors@eimskip.is
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