Clarkson Plc – Preliminary results

Clarkson PLC

Preliminary results

Clarkson PLC today announces preliminary results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2020.

Summary

· Robust underlying financial performance, ahead of market expectations

· Strong performance in Broking more than offset weakness in Financial services

· Continued strong free cash flow generation

· 18^th consecutive year of dividend growth

· One-off, non-cash impairment charge of £60.6m in relation to securities and offshore

· Forward order book going into 2021 is larger than at the same time last year

· Robust balance sheet with free cash resources¹ of £81.1m (31 December 2019: £68.7m)

· Rapid transition to remote working expedited rollout of our Sea/ products to clients

· Medium-term macro environment for shipping favourable as demand / supply dynamics set to improve post pandemic

· Well positioned to support the green transition in shipping and benefit from the expected economic and global trade recovery

¹ Free cash resources are cash and cash equivalents and current investment deposits, after deducting amounts accrued for performance-related bonuses, outstanding loans and monies held by regulated entities.

* Before exceptional item of £60.6m and acquisition related costs of £0.5m (2019: exceptional item of £47.5m and acquisition related costs of £1.6m).

** Includes the equivalent of the 2019 final dividend of 53p which was paid as an interim dividend in 2020, the timing of which was delayed to allow the Board to assess the impact of COVID-19.

Andi Case, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“2020 could never be described as business as usual, with disruption in demand and global trade, significant volatility in commodity prices and a massive shift in the working environment. So Clarksons are proud to announce a very robust set of full year results for 2020 which are ahead of market expectations and demonstrate the resilience of our business and the important role we play in the global shipping industry. Given the strong cash generation, I am pleased to announce that the Board is recommending its 18th consecutive year of increased dividends.

“As a market leader, Clarksons continues to benefit from its robust business model and from the investment of recent years in tools for trade. Our key areas of focus are not only on growth in all core segments, but also importantly on growth in new segments including renewables, the green transition of the maritime world where we are helping our clients to achieve their ambitious carbon and GHG reduction targets and continuing the rollout of our technology solution, the Sea/ platform, to clients.

“I would like to thank the entire Clarksons team for their hard work and dedication. As a result of the efforts of the Clarksons team, we are well positioned to benefit from the expected economic and global trade recovery in the years ahead.”