Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 4788L

Braemar Shipping Services PLC

04 July 2014

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                4 July 2014

BRAEMAR SHIPPING SERVICES PLC

Interim Management Statement

The management of Braemar Shipping Services Plc (the "Company"), which provides broking, consultancy, technical, logistics and other services to the shipping, marine and energy industries, today publishes the following information which constitutes the Company's Interim Management Statement for the purposes of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the UK Listing Authority, for the period from 1 March 2014 to 4 July 2014 (the "Period").

At the annual general meeting of the Company to be held 11.00 a.m. today, James Kidwell, the Company's Chief Executive, will make the following statement:

Shipbroking

The performance of the Shipbroking division for the three months to 31 May 2014 is slightly ahead of the same period last year. The early signs of improvement in the shipping markets have led to an increase in the total forward order book of that division compared with the forward order book at 31 May 2013. In particular the Offshore and Sale & Purchase Departments have performed well, as expected. There has been a significantly improved performance from the Dry Cargo Department compared with quarter 1 of the prior year. Weaker freight rates have affected the income attributable to the Tanker Department; however, that department has been involved in some significant long-term charters in the gas market.  

Following on from the announcement on 20 May 2014 of the proposed merger (the "Merger") with ACM Shipping Group plc, the planning of the integration of the two Shipbroking businesses has commenced. The clear objective of the Merger is to be the "best in class" in our Shipbroking business and provide clients with a top quality service based on strong teams with excellent market coverage.

Technical

Braemar Adjusting and Braemar SA both started the year well, benefiting from the recruitment, during the last year, of experienced staff. Braemar Engineering has continued to work on a number of LNG projects, including supporting the design and construction aspects of six LNG carriers where the site supervision work commenced on schedule this year. Braemar Offshore remains busy across all of its offices in the Far East and is actively pursuing new projects to replace the high level of those delivered last year. Casbarian was sold in March 2014.

Logistics

The Company has taken steps to focus the Logistics business on its core areas of strength. This has resulted in the sale of the small, non-core, seasonal Tours business. The Company continues to focus on growing market share in the UK and Singapore and has recently announced the opening of a new office in Houston, in the USA.

Environmental

The Environmental division has continued its routine level of activity without any significant new project work in the Period.

Outlook

The management of the Company remains confident of the Company's prospects and its expectations for the year remain unchanged. The management is pleased with the progress to date of the Merger with ACM. The Company's full year expectation will require adjustment, if the Merger becomes effective, to include not only ACM's trading but also adjustment for one-off transaction and planned integration costs.

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Braemar Shipping Services Plc
James Kidwell, Chief Executive	Tel [phone]
Martin Beer, Group Finance Director	Tel [phone]
Buchanan
Charles Ryland Fiona Henson	Tel [phone] Tel [phone]
Westhouse Securities
Robert Finlay / Antonio Bossi / Richard Johnson / Henry Willcocks	Tel [phone]

Notes to editors

Braemar Shipping Services Plc:

Braemar Shipping Services Plc is a leading international provider of broking, consultancy, technical and other services to the shipping, marine, energy and insurance industries. Its shares are listed in the premium segment of the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and are admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities in the Industrial Transport Sector.

www.braemarplc.com

It business is organised into four divisions: Shipbroking, Technical, Logistics and Environmental.

Divisions:

Shipbroking:

The Shipbroking division provides chartering, sale and purchase and consulting shipbroking services to international ship owners, charterers and financial institutions operating in the tanker, gas, chemicals, offshore, container and dry bulk markets. The Shipbroking division has offices in the UK, USA, Norway, China, Australia, Singapore, India and Italy.

www.braemarseascope.com

Technical:

This division provides a range of marine consulting and advisory services to clients operating the energy, marine and insurance markets. This division operates as four distinct, but commonly branded, businesses often with overlapping markets and services.  The businesses are as follows:

- Braemar Adjusting:  This business provides loss adjusting, risk assessment and dispute resolution services to the international insurance market in relation to the insurance of risks arising out of the energy (oil and gas), marine and power sectors. Braemar Adjusting has offices in the UK, USA, Singapore, Canada, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

- Braemar Offshore:  This business provides specialised marine and engineering consultancy services to the offshore oil and gas industry. The principal services provided by Braemar Offshore are in the performance of pre-risk marine warranty surveys. Braemar Offshore has offices in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

- Braemar, incorporating The Salvage Association (also referred to as Braemar SA): This business provides marine consultancy and surveying services to clients operating in the shipping, energy (oil and gas) and insurance markets. It has a network of offices in Asia, Europe and the USA that principally undertake hull and machinery damage surveys for the insurance industry.

- Braemar Engineering: This business provides consultant marine engineering and naval architecture services to clients operating in the shipping and offshore oil and gas markets. Braemar Engineering has offices in the UK and the USA.  It has a particular expertise in the transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

www.braemar.com

Logistics: The Logistics business, trading under the name of Cory Brothers, provides ship agency, freight forwarding and logistics services principally for ship owners and charterers from its bases in the UK, Singapore and the USA.

www.cory.co.uk

Environmental: Trading as Braemar Howells, this business provides pollution response and environmental services primarily in the UK and Africa. It has earned an international reputation for its work for the insurance industry in handling containers from stricken vessels.

www.braemarhowells.com

 

END

 

 

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