Clarksons still upbeat despite tough conditions for investment banking

Clarksons, which provides services and investment banking to the shipping industry and offshore markets, has said it made a positive start to the year and that full-year expectations remain unchanged despite "challenging" conditions in the financial division.

At the company's annual general meeting on Thursday, chair Laurence Hollingworth said the broking division "continues to perform strongly", with spot business transacted so far this year in line with the same period in 2023.

"The invoicing profile of the forward order book, together with the increase in voyage duration arising from lower volumes through the Suez Canal due to tensions in the Middle East, mean that profits from this division will once again be second half weighted," he said.

Meanwhile, the Research and Support divisions are both performing well, though the Financial division is "currently experiencing more challenging capital markets within our investment banking activities, and a tighter real estate market affecting our project finance business".

Nevertheless, Hollingworth said: "The board's expectations for the year remain unchanged and the outlook for Clarksons continues to be positive."

The stock was down 1.1% at 3,975p by 1227 BST.