Norway’s Stolt-Nielsen Q4 net profit surges 47% to $33m

27 January 2011 08:36  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Norwegian shipping firm Stolt-Nielsen said on Thursday its fourth-quarter net profit surged 47% year on year to $33m (€24m) on the back of a strong performance from its tank containers business.

Revenue for the three-month period soared 67% to $459.4m, with operating profit soaring 63% to $45.5m, it said in a statement.

Stolt-Nielsen added that interest income and gains from asset sales boosted earnings for the December quarter.

For the whole of last year, the company had an 11% jump in net profit of $106.1 on sales of $1.79bn, which was up 8.5% year on year, the company said.

Operating profit was up 30% year on year to $160.9m, it said.

“Looking back on 2010 as a whole, SNL performed well in what was, as expected, a challenging year,” said company CEO Niels Stolt-Nielsen in a statement.

Its tank containers business more than doubled its fourth-quarter operating profit to $21m, helping the segment’s full-year earnings post an 18.6% increase at $64.3m.

The company’s tankers division, on the other hand, had a slight dip in fourth-quarter operating profit to $11m from $11.3m in the previous corresponding period, but the full-year earnings posted a 26.6% increase at $31.4m, Stolt-Nielsen said.

“We believe SNL is well positioned to face 2011 and make the most of opportunities that may arise, as well as generate a healthy profit once market conditions eventually improve,” CEO Niels Stolt-Nielsen

In the tankers business, however, the company still expected 2011 to be another challenging year, he said.

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By: Pearl Bantillo
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