Norway’s biggest shipbroker may list in 2012
RS Platou ASA, Norway’s biggest shipbroker, plans to increase its headcount almost 40 percent and is considering listing its shares next year as it expands to capture more of the shipping and offshore market, Bloomberg reports. “We want to use the industrial platform that we started with in Norway 24 years ago and gave us credibility and go to Singapore, New York, Houston and other places and replicate the success,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Anker said in an interview in his Oslo office on Sept. 14.
Platou aims to increase its staff to 450 to 500 people by the end of next year, from 360, Anker said, as it starts an investment banking office in New York this month and also may open more offices in West Africa. The 75-year-old company has also expanded via acquisitions including shipbroker Stewart Group Ltd. It will add 30 to 40 people to its asset management unit over the next 12 to 18 months.
The energy industry is being helped by rising global spending by oil producers and explorers as well as an economic expansion in emerging markets, Macquarie Equities Research has said. Oil services are benefiting from increased exploration in deep water and harsh environments off Brazil, West Africa and the Arctic. Stricter rules after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico have also spurred interest in newer platforms, boosting prices.
Listing
The Oslo-based broker will also consider listing its shares next year, after in June delaying an initial public offering for a second time in the past three years amid tumbling markets. Platou’s sales rose 19 percent to 994 million kroner ($177 million) last year, with ship-brokering and offshore accounting for the bulk of revenue. It reported an annual net income of 102 million kroner.
“The earliest we reconsider doing an IPO would be the second quarter of next year,” said Anker, who became CEO in 1987. “We’re generating funds internally, so we can grow. But if we want to do bigger acquisitions, it’s easier to give people publically traded shares so they can see what it’s worth.”
Anker is looking at a listing in Oslo and may also consider a secondary listing in Hong Kong. The company will also expand operations in London, Anker said, declining to be more specific.
Zero Rates
Global markets have been struggling amid slower economic growth and a spreading debt crisis sapping confidence from Europe to the U.S. Shipping is suffering from a global glut of capacity. The container-shipping industry is contending with the longest stretch of near-zero rates in its half-century history on the Asia-to-Europe route, the world’s second-busiest, according to Morgan Stanley. Rates for capesizes, typically hauling coal and iron ore, slumped 88 percent since June 2008.
Platou also has offices in Singapore, Aberdeen, Moscow, Accra, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Piraeus and Geneva. The company also provides project financing and research.
Anker said the “biggest relative” growth potential is in investment banking. The chief, who is part owner of Platou, plans to boost sales by about 50 percent to 1.5 billion kroner within two to four years and keep an average operating profit margin before bonuses of 50 percent to 60 percent.
Platou aims to increase its staff to 450 to 500 people by the end of next year, from 360, Anker said, as it starts an investment banking office in New York this month and also may open more offices in West Africa. The 75-year-old company has also expanded via acquisitions including shipbroker Stewart Group Ltd. It will add 30 to 40 people to its asset management unit over the next 12 to 18 months.
The energy industry is being helped by rising global spending by oil producers and explorers as well as an economic expansion in emerging markets, Macquarie Equities Research has said. Oil services are benefiting from increased exploration in deep water and harsh environments off Brazil, West Africa and the Arctic. Stricter rules after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico have also spurred interest in newer platforms, boosting prices.
Listing
The Oslo-based broker will also consider listing its shares next year, after in June delaying an initial public offering for a second time in the past three years amid tumbling markets. Platou’s sales rose 19 percent to 994 million kroner ($177 million) last year, with ship-brokering and offshore accounting for the bulk of revenue. It reported an annual net income of 102 million kroner.
“The earliest we reconsider doing an IPO would be the second quarter of next year,” said Anker, who became CEO in 1987. “We’re generating funds internally, so we can grow. But if we want to do bigger acquisitions, it’s easier to give people publically traded shares so they can see what it’s worth.”
Anker is looking at a listing in Oslo and may also consider a secondary listing in Hong Kong. The company will also expand operations in London, Anker said, declining to be more specific.
Zero Rates
Global markets have been struggling amid slower economic growth and a spreading debt crisis sapping confidence from Europe to the U.S. Shipping is suffering from a global glut of capacity. The container-shipping industry is contending with the longest stretch of near-zero rates in its half-century history on the Asia-to-Europe route, the world’s second-busiest, according to Morgan Stanley. Rates for capesizes, typically hauling coal and iron ore, slumped 88 percent since June 2008.
Platou also has offices in Singapore, Aberdeen, Moscow, Accra, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Piraeus and Geneva. The company also provides project financing and research.
Anker said the “biggest relative” growth potential is in investment banking. The chief, who is part owner of Platou, plans to boost sales by about 50 percent to 1.5 billion kroner within two to four years and keep an average operating profit margin before bonuses of 50 percent to 60 percent.