Braemar Plc., a provider of expert investment, chartering, and risk management advice to the shipping and energy markets, announced an update on trading for the year ended 28 February 2023.
Trading Update
The board is delighted to announce that Braemar has achieved record revenue and record profitability for the financial year ended 28 February 2023 on a simplified business strategy. The Company expects to report revenue for the year of not less than £150m (2022: £101.3m), with underlying operating profit of not less than £20m (2022: £10.1m).
The Group’s cash generation has also been strong, and the board expects the Group to be in a net cash positive position of circa £6.9m at the end of the financial year (2022: net debt of £9.3m). This net cash figure is after the payment of the acquisition consideration for Southport Maritime Inc. in the US and the recruitment of the new team in Madrid, both of which were announced by the Company in December 2022.
Trading in the first few weeks of the financial year has started well and the board looks forward to the rest of the year with confidence.
Final Dividend – recommended increase
In line with the Company’s progressive dividend policy and in view of the Company’s strong results for the year, the board intends to recommend a final dividend of 8 pence per share (2022: 7 pence) to shareholders for approval at the forthcoming annual general meeting. Together with the interim dividend of 4 pence per share, this equates to total dividends per share for the year of 12 pence, a 33% increase over the prior year dividend of 9 pence per share.
The Company intends to announce its financial results for the year ended 28 February 2023 by the end of May 2023.