Wilh. Wilhelmsen Spins Off Den Norske Amerikalinje

Norwegian rolling cargo shipping specialist Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding (WWH) has opted for restructuring the company as it separates Den Norske Amerikalinje AS, which owns a 12% shareholding in Hyundai Glovis, from Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA (WWASA).

The demerged company, to be named Treasure ASA, will be separately listed.

According to the group CEO of WWH, Thomas Wilhelmsen, the proposed demerger should improve transparency and “create a simpler structure visualising values for shareholders in WWASA.”

“From our perspective, the proposed restructuring enables WWASA to focus on their core activities, while we at the same time create a new entity which we can utilize to create shareholder value,” Wilhelmsen added.

Shareholders in WWASA will receive their prorate share in Treasure ASA, and WWH will therefore own 72.7% of the shares in the new entity. The company plans to complete the restructuring during the second quarter of 2016.

The news follows the company’s report of a weak fourth quarter in the logistics segment, mainly due to lower income from Hyundai Glovis.

Additionally, WWH saw a 2 percent increase to USD 807 million in total income for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with USD 795 million recorded in the third quarter of 2015. The slight increase was mainly driven by an improvement in WMS, while WWASA was slightly down and Holding and investments was stable, the company said.

“Demand for sea transported volumes were soft in the fourth quarter, and we did not see a pickup from the seasonally weak third quarter. The suboptimal trade and cargo mix combined with reduced bunker compensation and rate pressure explained the flat underlying performance in the fourth quarter,” Wilhelmsen said.

“The car and ro-ro markets are expected to remain challenging, with pressure on profitability. The new investments in land-based logistics services will have a positive effect on operating profit going forward. We expect the challenging offshore market to continue to affect parts of the maritime services portfolio, while most business areas will continue to benefit from the strong USD.”