Bulker and tanker firm Norden has declared another dividend and initiated more share buybacks after again reporting stellar results. The Copenhagen-listed company, which owns and operates product tankers and bulkers, said it will pay an interim dividend of DKK 30 ($3.94) per share for the third quarter, the same as for the previous three months. This trumps the DKK 25 payment that had been rumored in late October, as TradeWinds reported. Norden also plans to buy back a further $50m of its shares by 7 February, swiftly following a $40m buyback scheme that began in August and was completed on Tuesday.

Chief executive Jan Rindbo said the 64% return on equity during the third quarter “is a testimony to our unique trading model. During the quarter, Norden generated high dry cargo earnings in a weakening market. In addition, our large exposure to tankers enabled Norden to capitalize on surging tanker rates. As we head towards 2023, we expect to continue to benefit from our large exposure to tankers while profiting from a fully covered dry cargo portfolio. This positions Norden to continue to deliver strong returns to our shareholders.” Norden’s bottom line was $243.1m for the third quarter, topping the record result in the previous three months. It booked $65m profit during the third quarter last year.

This means the company has made more than half a billion dollars in combined net profit for the first nine months of this year — $539m to be exact, or DKK 107 in earnings per share. As ever, the Freight Services & Trading unit was the engine that has driven growth in profit for Norden overall. The business unit booked its best-ever quarterly result of $190m, up year on year from $57m. During the third quarter, Norden-operated vessels made $4,583 per day. The Freight division has increased the average margin per vessel per day to $1,253 since 2019. Meanwhile, the rising value of Norden’s tanker fleet has driven up the overall value of its fleet. The market value of both its owned and leased vessels was $1.42bn at the end of the third quarter. Norden said the market value of its owned vessels exceeded book values by $202m. The Assets & Logistics business unit, which looks after its owned and leased vessels and its logistics activities, generated a profit of $53m during the third quarter, of which $20m was profit from the sale of vessels.

Norden expects annual profit of between $650m and $730m for 2022. “This is based on high exposure towards substantially increased product tanker market rates, very strong short-term positioning towards a weakening dry cargo market, high long-term dry cargo cover at profitable rates and active asset trading,” it said. “Given the war in Ukraine, full effect of sanctions on Russia, remaining Covid-19 disruption and macroeconomic uncertainties in general, the freight market uncertainty and volatility is expected to remain high. With an agile business model and strong operating platform, Norden is well equipped to manage this uncertainty and adjust exposure accordingly.”

Analyst Anders Redigh Karlsen, head of shipping at Kepler Cheuvreux, praised the new buyback plan. “The share performance has been strong and we believe the dividend will be a positive (even if it was suggested that it would be coming),” he said in a note on Thursday. “Another share buyback programme will also enhance shareholder returns. We expect to see a moderate positive share price reaction today.” Norden shares were trading at DKK 440 as of 11am in Copenhagen, up by 10% since the opening.