LONDON, January 28, 2021 – Stolt-Nielsen Limited (Oslo Børs: SNI) today reported unaudited results for the fourth quarter ended November 30, 2020. The Company reported a fourth-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders of $13.4 million, with revenue of $480.6 million, compared with a net profit attributable to shareholders of $29.2 million, with revenue of $474.0 million, in the third quarter of 2020. The net profit attributable to shareholders for the full year was $26.3 million, with revenue of $1,955.1 million, compared with a net profit attributable to shareholders of $21.0 million, with revenue of $2,032.1 million, in 2019.
Highlights for the fourth quarter, compared with the third quarter of 2020, were:
- Stolt Tankers reported improved operating profit of $31.9 million, up from $28.1 million, as the negative impact of lower volumes was more than offset by a reduction in shipowning costs.
- The Stolt Tankers Joint Service Sailed-in Time-Charter Index was 0.60, compared with 0.61.
- Stolthaven Terminals reported operating profit of $8.0 million, down from $22.7 million, driven primarily by a net impairment of $8.8 million.
- Stolt Tank Containers reported operating profit of $13.9 million, down from $17.5 million, reflecting higher move-related expenses.
- Stolt Sea Farm reported an operating loss before fair value adjustment of biomass of
$0.3 million compared with an operating loss of $0.6 million. During the quarter Stolt Sea Farm concluded the sale of its caviar business, which has been reported as a discontinued operation. - Corporate and Other reported an operating loss of $3.5 million, mainly reflecting an increase in profit sharing and insurance accruals for deductibles, compared with a gain of $1.2 million in the prior quarter.
Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer of Stolt-Nielsen Limited, commented: “As expected, following a relatively strong third quarter, the fourth quarter saw an easing in tanker volumes. However, Stolt Tankers’ results for the quarter improved, driven by lower ship management costs, as making crew changes has become easier in recent months. At Stolthaven Terminals, results were negatively impacted by an impairment of goodwill at the Australian terminals, but overall we continue to see steady demand. At Stolt Tank Containers, the improvements in volume that we saw towards the end of the third quarter continued, with shipments showing solid increases. Stolt Sea Farm was able to build on the price recovery that began in the third quarter, and during the fourth quarter Stolt Sea Farm successfully completed the sale of the caviar business. We also decided to explore a potential IPO of Stolt Sea Farm which we hope will make the underlying value in our company more transparent.
“With the resurgence of the pandemic, the global economic outlook remains uncertain and therefore makes it difficult to predict the economic performance of our businesses for 2021. However, with the contract portfolio we have secured across our three logistics businesses we have limited any downside from the pandemic. With the current focus on the roll-out of vaccines we remain optimistic about the medium to long-term outlook, but in the short-term we expect volatility and uncertainty to remain.
“Our fiscal first quarter tends to be seasonally slower, as the Christmas and Chinese New Year holiday season and weather related delays impact results. At Stolt Tankers, we have seen a challenging December and January, but the favourable supply/demand outlook should provide a good foundation for continued improvements in the medium to long term. We have started taking delivery of the five 26,000 dwt ships secured in the third quarter, two of which will join our joint venture, NYK Stolt Tankers. M/T Stolt Bismuth joined our fleet on January 4th, with the remaining four ships to be delivered over the next few months. At Stolthaven, we expect to see healthy demand in most regions. Stolt Tank Containers continues to see strong booking levels, but tight ocean carrier and trucking capacity and cancelled sailings are making it increasingly costly and time consuming to move our tanks. At Stolt Sea Farm, we have seen volume and prices return towards pre-Covid levels. However the second wave and lockdown is again negatively impacting the hospitality industry, particularly in southern Europe.
“As much uncertainty remains around the timing of the roll-out of the Covid vaccines we continue to preserve cash, while maintaining our focus on safe and reliable operations that deliver quality services and products to our customers. Our diverse portfolio of businesses, dedicated employees and forward-looking strategy mean that we are well positioned for what may come.”
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
