OSLO, March 23 (Reuters) – Shipping firm Wallenius Wilhelmsen, which transports cars and other vehicles from factories to markets, has cut its dividend to zero and will mothball up to 10 vessels as demand plunged amid the coronavirus outbreak, it said on Monday.
The company also plans to scrap up to four older vessels, it added.
Oslo-listed Wallenius Wilhelmsen, which operates around 125 vessels, had originally proposed to pay dividends of up to $60 million, divided into two tranches.
“The world has changed dramatically over the past weeks, and we are all feeling the effect,” Chief Executive Craig Jasienski said in a statement, adding that the impact could last for a long time.
“Our strong focus on synergies and cost efficiency over the past years have put us in a solid liquidity position, but we are taking early precautionary steps now, to preserve cash,” Jasienski said. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019.
Join the 65,014 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
by David Shepardson (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will consider President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination of Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo to head the Commerce Department in a hearing...
By Ellen Francis (Reuters) – Interpol has issued red notices for the captain and owner of the ship that carried the chemicals which devastated Beirut in an explosion in August, killing 200...
By Chen Aizhu (Reuters) – China has issued 5 million tonnes of clean marine fuel export quotas in the first release for 2021, to five companies including a private refiner,...
