The ongoing shipping boom has helped Pan Ocean report earnings of US$480.1 million for the FY2021 ended Dec 31 2021, up 512.5% over FY2020. Revenue for FY2021 was US$4.04 billion, up 90.7% over FY2020.
According to the company, the dry bulk market in 2021 did well because of the higher tempo of economic activity across the world, which was partly driven by stimulus introduced by some governments.
China, for example, maintained crude steel production at more than 1 billion tonnes, thereby supporting demand for iron ore and by extension, bulk shipping capacity operated by Pan Ocean.
Furthermore, due to quarantine requirements, shipping operators were compelled to make do with "fleet inefficiency", further constraining overall capacity, states Pan Ocean.
“These positives made history in 2021 with the average Baltic Dry Index (BDI) at 2,943 points, up 180% y-o-y which was the highest record since 2008,” adds the company in its earnings commentary.
As at end December 2021, the company had cash and cash equivalents of US$440 million.
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The company plans to pay a final dividend of 11.2 cents per share, payable April 29, nearly double the final dividend of 5.9 cents paid for FY2020.
Shares in Pan Ocean closed flat at $8.60 on March 21
