Mainboard-listed Samudera Shipping has reported a 20.5% y-o-y dip in net profit to US$33.2 ($42.9) million for 1HFY2026 ended June 30 in a bourse filing on July 29. This represents a 1.6 cent drop in EPS to 6.2 US cents.
Revenue increased 12.2% y-o-y to US$320 million, while gross profit declined 7.8% to US$48.6 million, with operating costs increasing by 16.7% to around US$272 million. The higher operating costs were attributed to higher bunker and charter-hire costs.
The stronger revenue was attributed to the container shipping segment which generated more than US$297 million in revenue, a 13.5% y-o-y increase. Higher container liftings and average freight rates as well as contributions from new Singapore-Manila and Korea-Japan shuttle services that respectively began operations in 4QFY2025 and 1QFY2026 drove this revenue increase.
Revenue for the bulk and tanker segment declined by around 9.7% to US$13.2 million while the logistics division earned US$9.8 million, up 81% y-o-y.
Cash and equivalents decreased by around 7% y-o-y to nearly US$355 million while borrowings rose 20% to approximately US$129 million.
Samudera expects the operating environment to be impacted by geopolitical developments, evolving trade patterns and volatility in energy prices, with demand for connectivity expected to remain resilient.
Healthy customer demand in container shipping and established customer relationships will continue to support the company, notes Samudera which also indicated that it will only pursue growth opportunities where the rewards commensurate with risk.
Market and operating conditions in the bulk and tanker segment are expected to remain challenging, particularly for smaller chemical and gas tankers while the logistics segment is expected to benefit from new customer wins and warehouse management contracts. Samudera aims to strengthen its integrated logistics solutions through both asset-based and asset-light solutions, while exploring opportunities to expand its logistics footprint in Singapore and the region.
On resource deployment, the company says it will optimise the deployment of its fleet across its business, seeking to maximise utilisation while maintaining flexibility to seize new opportunities.
The company declared an interim dividend of 1.35 cents per share with Aug 13 being the record date and payable on Aug 21.
Shares in Samudera closed at 97 cents on July 29, down 1.5 cents or 1.5%.
Source: The Edge Singapore