PremiumWith a market capitalization of Rs. 8,518.91 crore, Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd. is a mid-cap company that operates in the shipping industry. The firm is the largest private sector shipper in India, and it specialises in dry bulk carriers and tankers, which are its two primary lines of business. The Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited is the largest company in the International Shipping business and Offshore Services. An interim dividend of Rs. 7.20 per share for the eligible shareholders has been announced along with the company's Q2 results.
The company has said in a stock exchange filing that “The Board has declared an interim dividend of Rs. 7.20/- per share to the equity shareholders of the Company. The Company has fixed November 23, 2022 as ‘Record Date’ for the purpose of ascertaining the shareholders eligible for receiving the interim dividend. The interim dividend will be paid to the shareholders on or after December 06, 2022."
In Q2FY23, the company declared net sales of ₹1447.45 Cr on a consolidated basis compared to ₹885.01 Cr in Q2FY22 and ₹1366.00 Cr posted in Q1FY23, representing a YoY growth of 63.55% and a QoQ growth of 5.96%. The company declared a net profit of ₹768.83 Cr in Q2FY23 compared to ₹223.06 Cr in Q2FY22 and ₹457.04 Cr posted in Q1FY23, representing a YoY growth of 244.67% and a QoQ growth of 68.21%. On a consolidated basis, the company declared an EBITDA of ₹1,019 Cr in Q2FY23 compared to ₹453 Cr in Q2FY22, representing a YoY growth of 124.94%. The EPS climbed to ₹53.85 per share in Q2FY23 compared to ₹32.01 in Q1FY23 and ₹15.18 in Q2FY22.
Mr. Bharat K Sheth Deputy Chairman & Managing Director said “In the first quarter, we mentioned that all four of our shipping sectors did well. In this quarter, the crude and product tanker freight markets became even stronger, which more than compensated for lower dry bulk rates. This enabled the Company to post its best ever quarterly profit. With the very strong cash flows for the quarter, the Company’s net debt turned negative for the first time! Asset values reflected the trend in freight market sentiment, with tanker prices continuing to rise and dry bulk prices falling by approximately 15 to 20%. The continuing strengthening in oil prices coupled with low level of inventory has supported the offshore business and here too the asset values are on the rise. As stated in the previous quarter, we continue to believe that the worst in this sector is behind us. A word of caution – with continuing high inflation and high interest rates, a global recession is possible. This would impact demand for multiple commodities, threatening our market."
The company has said in its financial report that “The Board of Directors has declared a second interim dividend of Rs. 7.20 per equity share of Rs.10/- each. The outgo on this account is Rs. 102.79 crores. The Company had declared and paid a first interim dividend of Rs. 5.40 per equity share of Rs.10/- each during the year. The outgo on this account was Rs. 77.09 crores. The total interim dividends for the year declared aggregates to Rs. 12.60 per equity share. The total outgo on this account will be Rs. 179.88 crores."
The shares of Great Eastern Shipping Company closed on Friday at ₹577 apiece, up by 1.37% from the previous close of ₹569.20. On a YTD basis, the stock has gained 91.00% so far in 2022