NORWAY’s Höegh Autoliners has reported a good end to 2024 and remains confident about 2025, although the company’s share price has taken something of a beating.
For 4Q 2024 the gross revenue was USD 352 million/NOK 3,878 million, operating profit (EBITDA) was USD 179 million/NOK 1,967million, and net profit after tax was USD 138 million/NOK 1,517 million. Gross freight rate decreased by 1% compared to Q3 2024 to USD 100.4 per CBM.
During the quarter the PCTC/ro-ro specialist took delivery of three more Aurora-class vessels, Höegh Borealis in October and Höegh Australis and Höegh Sunlight in December, and several contracts with major international car producers were signed.
Total dividend paid out in 2024 amounted to USD 841 million (USD 4.4084 per share).
CEO Andreas Enger described 2024 as a remarkable year for Höegh Autoliners: “Our efforts to build a quality contract backlog have been successful, as evidenced by several long-term contracts signed with leading OEMs globally during the last quarter.
“We maintain our confidence in providing top-tier, environmentally friendly transport solutions, bolstered by the addition of the three new Aurora-class vessels in the fleet. Following the normal seasonal slowdown in the beginning of the year, we expect Q1 volumes to be in line with recent quarters,” Mr Enger said.
“The delivery of newbuilds will gradually remove some of the pressure seen in our segment, but the general market remains strong with more volume than we can carry in key trade lanes.
“With regards to transiting the Red Sea, we maintain regular communication with relevant stakeholders and monitor the situation continuously. The geopolitical landscape is unpredictable and uncertainty has increased over the last few weeks with threats of and introduction of new tariffs. Höegh Autoliners´ direct exposure so far is limited, but generally any tariff will negatively effect the overall market. We expect an EBITDA result for Q1 slightly below same quarter last year.”
Despite the solid result, the company’s share price fell over 11% upon release of the results on Friday [14February].
In its January 2025 trading update, issued earlier, Höegh Autoliners said it transported 1.1 million cbm of cargo on prorated basis, while the three-month rolling total was 3.5 million cbm.
Average prorated gross freight rate in January 2025 was USD 99.6 per cbm (-0.7% compared to average gross rate in Q4 2024). Average prorated gross freight rate in the last three months was USD 99.7 per cbm.
Average prorated net freight rate in January 2025 was USD 82.1 per cbm (-5.3% compared to average net rate in Q4 2024). Average prorated net freight rate last three months was USD 84.6 per cbm.
HH/BB share of prorated volumes carried in January was 22%. Last three months the prorated HH/BB share was 24%.
Andreas Enger said January activity level was as expected somewhat influenced by seasonal slowdown. “Going forward we will benefit from having four of our newbuilds in operation following delivery of Höegh
Australis and Höegh Sunlight. January net rate was lower than recent months following from trade mix and start of new contract volume. The share of contract cargo was above 80%.”
