Clarkson PLC (Clarksons) is the world's leading shipping services group. From offices in 16 countries on five continents, we play a vital intermediary role in the movement of the majority of commodities around the world, said in the company's press release.
Summary
Robust performance delivered in challenging markets
Revenue £89.1m(2012: £88.0m)
Profit before taxation before exceptionals and acquisition costs £10.8m (2012: £10.8m)
Underlying earnings per share before exceptionals and acquisition costs 41.8p (2012: 39.2p)
Basic earnings per share after exceptionals and acquisition costs 32.7p (2012: 53.3p)
Interim dividend 19p per share (2012: 18p per share)
Strong balance sheet, with £71.9m of net funds (31 December 2012: £75.2m)
Trading in line with expectations
Andi Case, Chief executive, commented:
"Clarksons has delivered a resilient performance in the first half of 2013, achieved in global shipping markets which have seen significant challenges over the period. In these difficult times we have remained focused on the key elements of our strategy by developing our full service client offering, taking advantage of opportunities to strengthen our core broking teams with new hires and enhancing both our research product portfolio and support infrastructure.
"The industry outlook remains challenging with the continued focus on the spot market limiting visibility. However, despite these headwinds we continue to make good progress and are trading in line with expectations. As previously highlighted we expect to see a slight weighting in performance to the second half of this year, reflecting the delivery profile of our newbuild activities."