Grindrod cuts shipping loss
The company plans to spin off the unprofitable business, but headline earnings for freight and financial services shoot up
Grindrod appears to have turned a corner in the year ended December 2017 after years of listless international shipping markets. Announcing its annual results on Friday, the JSE-listed logistics, freight and financial services group also says it has entered into agreements to dispose of its shipping business to an independent, newly incorporated Singapore-registered company, Grindrod Shipping Holdings, from mid-June 2018. Headline earnings per share for continuing freight and financial services operations rocketed 173% in the year to 76c a share from 27.8c previously. But a headline loss of R203m from the shipping business in 2017 — albeit much better than a headline loss of R570m for these operations in 2016 — shows seas are still choppy. This meant an overall group headline loss per share of 47.4c in financial 2017 from a headline loss per share of 61.2c in 2016. During the past few years prolonged low minerals commodity demand and excess global shipping capacity have forced major...
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