During 9M 2022, Atlantska Plovidba recorded a sales revenue increase of 38% YoY, an EBITDA growth of 46%, and a net profit of HRK 143.7m, an increase of 58% YoY.

During the 9M 2022, Atlantska Plovidba transported 4.37m tons of cargo. Coal made up 2.66m tons, or 60.8% of the total, minor bulk made up 29.8%, or 1.3m tons, iron ore made 6.8%, or 296.4k tons, and finally, grain made up 2.6% or 115k tons.

Looking at Atlantska Plovidba’s fleet, they operate 11 ships, of which, 5 are in the Panamax category, 4 are in the Supramax category, and 2 are in the Handy category. Compared to last year, Atlantska Plovidba had 1 more ship which they recently transferred to new owners in South Korea. Atlantska Plovidba also is awaiting the construction of 2 ships in the Kamsarmax category, which are due to be completed in 2023. Of the 11 operational ships, 4 are employed on a long-term lease (>1 year), while 7 are employed on a short-term lease (<1 year). Furthermore, the fleet utilization rate during 9M 2022 amounted to 96.9%. This would mean that out of 2,999 operational days, the fleet was utilized for 2,906 of them.

Moving on, the average daily freight rate in 9M 2022 amounted to USD 21,517/day. The trend of the average freight rate for the last 2 months, however, has been on of decline, with levels at app. USD 21k (as compared to over USD 22k in June/July). Because of the continued favorable environment for the shipping industry, the sales revenue increased by 38% YoY and amounted to HRK 446.3m.

Meanwhile, OPEX amounted to HRK 299.1m, an increase of 45% YoY. This was driven by material costs, which grew by 28% and amounted to 98.8m, staff costs, which grew by 20% and amounted to HRK 51.9m, but also value adjustments which were recorded during the 9M 2022, amounting to HRK 38.4m. However, with the faster top-line than OPEX growth, EBITDA increased significantly, growing by 46% and amounting to HRK 264.9m. EBITDA margin amounted to 57.74%, an improvement of 4 p.p. YoY.

Financial income amounted to HRK 26.4m, more than a 16x improvement, mainly due to better foreign exchange conditions. Financial expenses increased by 14% and amounted to HRK 41.9m. This would mean despite the improvement, the net financial result was still negative, at HRK 15.5m (56% improvement YoY). Finally, the net profit of the Company amounted to HRK 143.7m, an increase of 58% YoY. Meanwhile, the NAV of the fleet on the date of 30 September 2022 amounted to USD 215.3m, which would mean that the NAV per share amounts to USD 102.53.

Atlantska Plovidba key financials (9M 2022 vs. 9M 2021, HRKm)

Source: Atlantska Plovidba, InterCapital Research

In 9M 2022, Kraš recorded a revenue growth of 8.6% YoY, an EBITDA growth of 6.5%, and a net income of HRK 36.2m, an increase of 6.1% YoY.

The sales revenue for the 9M 2022 amounted to HRK 807.9m, which is an increase of 8.6% YoY. Sales on the domestic market amounted to HRK 443.4m, which is an increase of 10.1% YoY, while sales on the international markets amounted to HRK 357.1m, which is an increase of 6.4% YoY. This growth was recorded despite unfavorable economic trends, including inflation growth, the reduction in the disposable income of consumers, and the uncertain political situation in Eastern Europe. The largest revenue growth was recorded in the cookies and waffles segment, at 10.9%. Growth was also recorded in the segment of cacao and candy products. The total volume of sales amounted to 27,147 tonnes, which is an increase of 2% of 433 tonnes YoY. Of this, the domestic market recorded a volume growth of 1%, while in the international markets, a growth of 2.4% in volume was recorded.

Moving on to the expenses, the total operating expenses amounted to HRK 777.4m, which is an increase of 8.9% YoY. Of this, material expenses increased by 14.5%, and amounted to HRK 545.9m, while staff expenses increased by 6.1% YoY, and amounted to HRK 190.7m. As the operating expenses growth was slightly higher than revenue growth, EBITDA also experienced an increase, albeit at a slower rate. In total, it amounted to HRK 87.8m, which is an increase of 6.5% YoY.

Going further down the P&L, the financial income amounted to HRK 6.1m, which is an increase of 8.7% YoY, while the financial expenses amounted to HRK 3.5m, a decrease of 10.8%. This can tell us that in the 9M 2022, the FX differences impacted Kraš positively, leading to both higher income and lower revenue. In total, the net financial result amounted to HRK 2.6m, an increase of 54% YoY. The earnings before taxes amounted to HRK 43.9m, an increase of 5.9%, while the tax amounted to HRK 7.8m, an increase of 4.8%. This would imply an effective tax rate of 17.8%, a decrease of 0.2 p.p. Finally, the net income of the Company amounted to HRK 36.2m, an increase of 6.1% YoY.

Kraš key financials (9M 2021. vs. 9M 2022, HRKm)

Source: Kraš, InterCapital Research