Pacific Basin Shipping Limited, one of the world’s leading dry bulk shipping companies, today announced the unaudited results of the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively the “Group”) for the six months ended 30 June 2026.
Mr. Martin Fruergaard, CEO of Pacific Basin, said:
Amid heightened geopolitical disruption, we continued to outperform the market and delivered strong financial results. Our integrated platform, disciplined operations and financial strength enabled us to navigate volatility, capture opportunities and create sustainable shareholder value through the dry bulk cycle. We also continued to strengthen our safety and environmental performance, achieving one of our lowest ever lost-time injury frequency (“LTIF”) rates and further reducing our fleet’s carbon intensity.”
Robust Financial Performanc
In the first half of 2026, Pacific Basin generated an underlying profit of US$94.9 million, up 333% year on year, while net profit increased 310% to US$105.0 million. EBITDA rose 63% to US$197.8 million. This equates to an annualised return on equity of 11% and basic earnings per share of HK16.1 cents. The improvement reflected stronger freight markets and Pacific Basin’s continued ability to outperform throughout the market cycle.
Our core business Handysize and Supramax daily time-charter equivalent (“TCE”) earnings exceeded benchmark indices by 16% and 17%
respectively, demonstrating the value of our integrated operating platform with global customer network and triangulated trading model.
Complementing our core business, our operating activity contribution before overheads increased 33% compared to the first half of 2025, corresponding to a margin of US$1,060 per day. This activity continues to provide a valuable earnings contribution while enabling us to support customers even when our core vessels are unavailable.
Our earnings outperformance is reinforced by strong cost discipline. Vessel operating expenses, overheads and financing costs remain well controlled and competitive, supporting resilient margins and strong cash generation through the cycle.
Beyond our financial performance, we continued to strengthen our safety and environmental performance. Our LTIF improved to 0.32, among the best results in our history, while our owned fleet’s carbon intensity (“EEOI”) improved by 5% compared with full-year 2025 and is now 45% below our 2008 baseline.
Strong Balance Sheet and Shareholders Returns
Pacific Basin ended the period with net cash of US$157.2 million and available committed liquidity of US$673.6 million. Operating cash flow of US$143.5 million more than covered capital expenditure of US$57.3 million, supporting continued reinvestment and shareholder distributions.
The Board declared an interim dividend of HK15.5 cents per share, representing approximately 100% of net profit excluding vessel disposal gains, and a dividend yield of approximately 5%. This reflects our confidence in the strength of the business while retaining flexibility to respond to changing market conditions and opportunities.
Under our revised dividend policy announced in March 2026, the Company intends to pay dividends of 50% of annual net profit, excluding vessel disposal gains, increasing to up to 100% of net profit (also excluding vessel disposal gains) when the Company is in a net cash position at year end.
The Company repurchased approximately 9.5 million shares for about US$3.5 million during the period under its previously announced 2026 share buyback programme of up to US$40 million and will continue to assess further buyback opportunities.
Disciplined Fleet Growth for long-Term Returns
Pacific Basin continued its disciplined fleet renewal and growth strategy through selective vessel acquisitions, chartering activity and newbuilding commitments.
During the period, the Company took delivery of a previously long-term chartered Ultramax vessel, exercised purchase options on two chartered Handysize vessels, and added a long-term chartered Ultramax newbuilding with delivery in 2027.
As reported on 16 April 2026, the Company expanded its orderbook by replacing four dual-fuel Ultramax orders with four fuel-efficient conventionally fuelled Ultramax newbuildings, while also securing an option to acquire two dual-fuel vessels. The Company also increased its orders for Handysize vessels from four to six, strengthening its pipeline of modern and efficient tonnage.
The Company also holds purchase options, declarable between 2026 and 2031, on 12 of its 13 long-term chartered vessels (of which the Company has declared two options so far this year) and on all three long-term chartered vessels still to deliver into its fleet.
As at 30 June 2026, Pacific Basin’s fleet on the water comprised 120 core vessels, with 254 vessels overall including short-term chartered vessels.
Well-positioned to Capture Opportunities in an Evolving Market
Dry bulk freight markets strengthened during the first half of 2026 as geopolitical disruption and trade inefficiencies supported vessel utilisation and freight rates. While Clarksons Research forecast data suggests that full-year supply growth is expected to exceed demand growth, these disruptions and inefficiencies are expected to continue supporting tonne-mile demand and market conditions.
Against this backdrop, the Company has secured cargo cover for 54% of its Handysize committed vessel days and 60% of its Supramax committed vessel days for the second half of 2026 at US$14,850 and US$17,470 per day respectively, providing some earnings visibility while retaining exposure to the spot market in the remainder of the year.
While volatility is expected to remain a defining feature of the shipping industry, it continues to create opportunities for well-positioned operators. With its integrated platform, strong balance sheet, competitive cost structure, strong safety and environmental performance and disciplined capital allocation approach, Pacific Basin remains well positioned to navigate uncertainty and capture opportunities.
Source: Pacific Basin
