Selfinvest, the parent company of USTC and subsidiaries which include Bunker Holding, has reported record pre-tax profits of over DKK 1 billion for FY 2019/2020 but says ‘the outlook for the coming year is more uncertain’.
In the last financial year, Middelfart-based Selfinvest achieved revenues of DKK 76.7 billion. Pre-tax profits were over DKK 1 billion, compared to DKK 387 million recorded in FY 2018/2019.
The company noted a particularly strong performance from Bunker Holding, which saw its pre-tax earnings double year-on-year to reach $155.2 million. However, while Bunker Holding prepared well for IMO 2020, ‘the Group’s resilience, stamina and not least risk management have been tested by the trade war, the lowest oil price in nearly 20 years and the COVID-19 pandemic,’ said a Selfinvest statement.
‘So, despite Bunker Holding being strongly positioned in “the new normal”, the Group does not expect a repeat of the good results for the new financial year 2020/21, especially due to the decline in world trade and markets that are still heavily affected by the Coronavirus crisis.’
Reference was also made to the financial performance of the tanker shipping company Uni-Tankers which moved back into the black. Selfinvest owner Torben Østergaard-Nielsen commented: Last year, we chose to write down the value of the company’s fleet to the current, estimated sales value, a new long-term financing agreement was negotiated, and the ownership of Uni-Tankers came back 100% into USTC’s hands.
‘The company was thus given the best possible starting point for 2019/20, which they have used satisfactorily and with a tidy profit as a result.’
As previously reported, last month changes were announced to the ownership structure of USTC, with Torben Østergaard-Nielsen’s two daughters, Nina Østergaard Borris and Mia Østergaard Nielsen, becoming co-owners of USTC, via Selfinvest. Torben Østergaard-Nielsen will own a third of USTC and continue to head the group.
In the statement accompanying the financial results, he noted that ‘we have an ongoing Coronavirus crisis, a trade war and a collapsed oil price that makes the road ahead both clouded and unpredictable.
‘We therefore do not expect to reach the same excellent results for 2020/21, although I have to say that all of the group’s activities are strongly positioned for an exciting year.’
