Lauritzen Reefers - end of an era
In 2007, EBITDA was USD (0.2)m and similar to 2006.
Net results were USD 5.8m compared to USD 10.1m in 2007. Gains from the sale of assets amounted to USD 1.2m, down from USD 9.4m in 2006. Results were in line with expectations and were satisfactory.
At the beginning of 2007, JL sold the last reefer vessel it owned. JL’s 50% holding in NYKLauritzenCool was sold to NYK Reefers Limited with effect from 1 July 2007, giving NYK full control of the company which was subsequently renamed NYKCool. The transaction saw the transfer of JL’s fleet of time-chartered vessels to NYKCool.
The sale of the NYKLauritzenCool holding marked JL’s exit from the reefer market as an operator, but it was also the end of an era spanning more than a century in which JL was a pioneer and a major player in the global reefer market.
JL’s residual reefer business mainly consists of providing technical management for seven reefer vessels owned by Chartworld.
In 2008, earnings from remaining reefer activities are expected to be insignificant.
