Recently, Danish shipping giant Norden released its first-half 2025 performance report and shared its latest market insights during a recent conference call.
In the second quarter of 2025, Norden achieved operating revenue of $780 million, a year-on-year decrease of 24.4%; net profit reached $52 million, up 13% year-on-year. Cumulative operating revenue for the first half of the year was $1.58 billion, down 18.9% year-on-year, while net profit stood at $84.5 million, a 21.8% decline year-on-year.
Since the beginning of this year, Norden has sold 20 vessels, including 13 from previously announced purchase options. The company also signed 18 new vessel charter contracts, including 10 multipurpose vessels (MPP). Norden stated these measures are part of its ongoing efforts to build its investment portfolio and prepare for future market growth.
Norden CEO Jan Rindbo explained that the company’s business model consists of four core drivers: two business segments (dry bulk and tankers) and two operational approaches (heavy assets—asset management, and light assets—transport services and trading). This diversified structure allows the company to flexibly adjust exposure across segments, thereby achieving superior long-term investment returns.
Regarding the current market, Rindbo commented: “For the remainder of this year, we maintain a bullish outlook on the product tanker market while holding a neutral view on dry bulk. Long-term, we are more optimistic about the dry bulk market. Purchase options serve as a key value driver: they can generate significant appreciation when asset markets strengthen, while providing substantial flexibility and market optimization capability during price declines without requiring actual vessel ownership.”
Discussing long-term industry prospects, Rindbo noted: “The shipping industry has solid fundamentals: an aging fleet and saturated shipyard capacity. If you order a vessel today, delivery would take three to four years. This presents highly attractive opportunities for long-term business development. Combined with our business model, we are positioned to continue delivering industry-leading capital returns and rewarding shareholders over the long term.”
In its latest earnings guidance, Norden raised the lower end of its full-year net profit forecast from $50 million to $70 million, with the full-year expectation range now set at $70-130 million, which already includes $70 million in realized gains from vessel sales.
On the possibility of a Russia-Ukraine peace agreement, Jan Rindbo assessed the likelihood as quite low. He stated: “Even if a peace deal were reached, the next critical question would be how sanctions are handled, as they significantly impact our markets. A near-term lifting of sanctions appears unlikely. Should sanctions eventually be lifted, the short-term market impact could be negative as it would immediately improve global fleet efficiency. However, this is not our baseline scenario.”
Regarding the potential reopening of Red Sea shipping routes, Jan Rindbo deemed it improbable: “There are currently no signs this will happen. One could argue this area is gradually becoming a prolonged conflict zone. Nevertheless, world trade and shipping have adapted to this new reality. Even if gradual improvements occur in the future, they may reopen channels for other types of transactions. From this perspective, its current significance may be less than initially—the early market impact resembled panic, whereas markets have now found ways to cope.
