AGM Trading Statement

At the Annual General Meeting to be held electronically by video webcast at 12 noon today, Laurence Hollingworth, Chair of Clarksons, will make the following trading statement covering the period from 1 January to 8 May 2024.

Current Trading

The Group has made a positive start to the year, helping our clients to navigate the ongoing complexities and disruptions to global trade, by providing the expertise, data and insights to enable them to make the right decisions for their organisations.

• The Broking division continues to perform strongly with spot business transacted to date in line with last year as expected. The invoicing profile of the forward order book ("FOB"), together with the increase in voyage duration arising from lower volumes through the Suez Canal due to tensions in the Middle East, mean that profits from this division will once again be second half weighted.
• The Research division has continued to perform well providing its market-leading data and insights for a broad range of subscribers.
• The Support division has also performed well, with good activity across port agency, supplies and the provision of safety equipment and training, offset in part by weaker revenues from lower Suez Canal transit volumes.
• The Financial division, whilst continuing to build pipeline and remaining transactionally active, is currently experiencing more challenging capital markets within our investment banking activities, and a tighter real estate market affecting our project finance business.
• The Sea platform continues to make progress with the delivery of Sea Trade 2.0.

Outlook

The Board's expectations for the year remain unchanged and the outlook for Clarksons continues to be positive.

Details on how to join the AGM can be found in the Notice of Meeting.