A shake-up in Western Bulk’s corporate culture and trading patterns has helped the operator book a profitable end to 2021 that will kickstart dividend payments to shareholders. The Oslo-listed bulker operator recorded $72.1m in net profit after tax for the second half of 2021, more than eleven times the $6.1m it booked during the same period in 2020. Western Bulk said its board will propose a dividend for 2021 of $65m at its annual general meeting, which is expected sometime around mid-March. This would equate to a payment of roughly 52 cents per share, based on its outstanding shares.

The company has said it intends to implement a quarterly dividend policy of a minimum 80% of earnings after the first quarter of 2022.  Gross revenues during the last six months of 2021 were $922.6m, compared to $355.4m in the second half of the previous year.

For the full year, Western Bulk logged net profit after tax of $81m on the back of $1.49bn in gross revenues. Western Bulk operated an average of 114 supramax, ultramax and handysize bulkers during the second half of 2021. Its net time-charter (TC) margin per ship was $5,591 per day during the period, compared to $1,079 for the same period in 2020. For the full year of 2021, the operator’s net TC margin per ship was $3,376 per day, up from $663 per day in 2020.

Western Bulk said it has seen “returns on investments in operational improvement, excellence in execution and data-driven decision making”. Chief executive Hans Aasnaes said the company has built “a strong culture of co-operation, agility and continuous improvement. Through this, and by staying loyal to the strategy of utilizing the company’s risk capacity in the short-term market, Western Bulk is in a good position entering 2022,” he said in the firm’s financial report.

Changes in the company culture and cooperation across the organization have enabled Western Bulk to develop new trading patterns and take “a more holistic approach” to managing its fleet, the report said. Western Bulk said it expects market volatility to continue this year but is confident that it can capture opportunities in the market. “By being agile, building a culture with focus on cooperation, and staying loyal to the strategy of utilizing the company’s risk capacity in the short-term market, Western Bulk is in a good position entering 2022,” it said in its report.

Western Bulk listed on Oslo’s Euronext Growth exchange in September. Its shares have been registered on Oslo’s over-the-counter market for unlisted securities since 2017.