Shipbroking boosts Braemar

A strong shipbroking performance at Braemar Shipping Services was offset by profit declines in the rest of the business. Revenues grew from £57.1m to £67.6m in the six months to August 2010 with all divisions showing some growth but the majority coming from shipbroking. Pre-amortisation profit rose from £7.7m to £8m. The interim dividend has been increased by 0.25p to 9p a share. The shipbroking market has been volatile. Longer-term, Braemar expects freight rates to decline as more vessels come into the market. New ventures in the marine services business are still losing money and the logistics business did not have the benefit of a lucrative contract that it had in the preceding year. Environmental margins declined.There was a cash outflow in the first half but cash generation is much stronger in the second half. There was still £14.8m in the bank at the end of August 2010. Braemar Shipping