Seatrade Maritime is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

WFS reports weaker results for marine business in 2016

WFS reports weaker results for marine business in 2016
World Fuel Services (WFS), global supplier and broker of fuel products, has recorded lower earnings for its marine business in 2016 as it sold slightly less marine fuels.

Last year, WFS sold 31.36m tonnes of bunker fuels, down 4% compared to 32.65m tonnes sold in 2015.

The group reported gross profit of $149.5m for its marine segment, down 21.1% from $189.6m in 2015, and revenue also decreased by 23.4% year-on-year to $7.18bn.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, the marine segment recorded a writeoff of $6m due to the collapse of South Korea’s container line Hanjin Shipping.

Michael J. Kasbar, chairman and ceo of WFS, said during the group’s earnings call that the uptick in the marine market is not expected to be significant going forward.

WFS is also involved in the distribution of fuel and related services in the aviation and land transportation industries.

“While 2016 was a challenging year in many of the markets we serve, we remain committed to executing on our short and long term growth plans while increasing operational efficiency,” Kasbar commented.

Ira M. Birns, executive vice president and cfo, said: “We remain committed to driving cost efficiencies in our businesses and we have identified $20m of additional annualised cost savings across the business, which should help deliver a strong result in 2017.”