UK shipbroker Braemar Shipping Services has fallen to a small loss in its first half, partly due to the costs of merging with compatriot ACM Shipping.
UK shipbroker Braemar Shipping Services said the net deficit in the six months to 31 August was £0.148m ($0.238m), versus a profit of £3.17m in the same period of 2013.
It also blamed exceptional costs of £3m in 2014. Of this, £0.9m represented transaction costs directly linked to the acquisition of ACM on 25 July and £2.1m arose from restructuring and integration costs following the tie-up. A “substantial element” of the latter figure was redundancy payments in the shipbroking business.
UK shipbroker Braemar Shipping Services said: “These redundancy payments resulted from the swift action taken to reduce the cost base of the continued business in order to achieve annualised savings we now estimate to be approximately £4m; significantly more than was expected when the merger was first announced.”
The ACM deal was completed on 25 July and chairman Sir Graham Hearne said: "The shipbroking businesses have been brought together across the board, the teams selected and the integration plans largely implemented. “The response of our shipbroking clients has been outstanding.” He added he was confident of “a measurable improvement in profitability” in the coming years.
Dry Bulk Shipping News - Shipbroker Notes