OW Bunker Reports Solid first quarter of 2014 with volume growth of 15%. FY outlook maintained

First quarter 2014 highlights

EBT before special items increased by 8% to USD 25.0 million (Q1 2013: USD 23.2 million) primarily due to increased earnings in Asia

• Marine fuel transaction volume increased by 15% to 7.7 million tonnes (Q1 2013: 6.7 million tonnes) mainly due to growth in Asia

• Gross profit was USD 56.7 million (Q1 2013: USD 58.4 million). First quarter 2013 was strong, positively affected by unrealised gains on derivative contracts used for risk management. Risk management derivatives are commercially linked to inventory and underlying marine fuel transactions, and changes in the fair value of these derivatives due to unrealised gains or losses may cause quarterly fluctuations in the gross profit

• Gross profit per tonne was 7.4 USD per tonne (Q1 2013: USD 8.7 per tonne). Gross profit per tonne has been very stable over the years, most recently at USD 7.5 per tonne in FY 2013 and FY 2012

• OW Bunker was successfully listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen in March 2014. Special items comprise one-off costs of USD 10.1 million related to the IPO

• EBT before special items conversion ratio increased to 44% (Q1 2013: 40%), reflecting lower external costs and staff costs per tonne

• Profit for the period before special items and tax effect hereof reached USD 19.3 million (Q1 2013: USD 17.7 million) corresponding to an improvement of 9%

• Return on equity before special items and tax effect hereof was 33% (Q1 2013: 31%) and equity ratio was 15% (Q1 2013: 15%)

• 2014 full-year outlook maintained as previously announced in conjunction with the IPO

CEO Jim Pedersen commented:
“First quarter of 2014 was indeed a milestone in the history of OW Bunker with the successful listing of the company on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen. Despite the intense IPO process, we are able to present solid results for the first quarter 2014. The 15% volume growth is mainly due to increased volumes in Asia, but also Americas did well.”
Source: OW Bunker A/S