Ocean Wilsons Holdings — Disposal to generate surplus capital

Ocean Wilsons Holdings (LSE: OCN)

Last close As at 11/04/2025

GBP13.70

45.00 (3.40%)

Market capitalisation

GBP485m

More on this equity

Research: Investment Companies

Ocean Wilsons Holdings — Disposal to generate surplus capital

In FY24, Ocean Wilsons increased its earnings per share and dividend by 7% and more than 40%, respectively. 2024 was a seismic year for the company as it agreed to sell its 56% holding in Wilson Sons. It will be returning a portion of the sale proceeds to shareholders but the use of the remaining proceeds is still under consideration. Currently, Ocean Wilsons is trading at a c 40% discount to our estimated total asset value of 2,389p/share. Given the pending disposal, we are withdrawing our forecasts.

Andy Murphy

Written by

Andy Murphy

Director of content, industrials

Investment companies

11 April 2025

Price 1,400.00p
Market cap £499m
Shares in issue 35.4m
Code/ISIN OCN/BMG6699D1074
Primary exchange LSE
AIC sector N/A
52-week high/low 1,640.0p 1,200.0p

Fund objective

Ocean Wilsons Holdings is an investment company based in Bermuda. It has a controlling shareholding in Wilson Sons, a quoted maritime services company in Brazil, and holds a portfolio of international investments.

Bull points

  • The investment portfolio is diversified reducing specific risk.
  • Geographically, it is biased to North America, which has been a growth engine.
  • Disposal of Wilson Sons offers management optionality on reinvestment.

Bear points

  • Shareholder consultation implies a period of uncertainty.
  • Exposure to North America may increase volatility.
  • Tender offer may reduce liquidity.

Analyst

Andy Murphy
+44 (0)20 3077 5700

Ocean Wilsons Holdings is a research client of Edison Investment Research Limited

FY24 EPS up c 7% and DPS increased by 43.5%

FY24 net profit attributable to equity shareholders increased by 6.9% to US$71.7m, driven largely by strong trading in Wilson Sons, offset by lower net returns from the investment portfolio. Net assets increased by 2.9% to US$839.4m and net debt fell by 29.8% to US$336.1m, at least in part driven down by a 44.0% increase in net cash inflow from operating activities. Earnings per share increased by 6.9% to 202.7 cents and the proposed dividend for the year was 122.0 cents, up 43.5%.

Investment portfolio in line with benchmark

The investment portfolio, which will be the sole investment vehicle of Ocean Wilsons on completion of the sale of Wilson Sons, generated a gross return of 6.5% and net return of 5.3% compared to its benchmark’s return of 5.9%. In FY23, it produced a net return of 8.9% compared to the benchmark return of 6.4%. The portfolio is c 55% exposed to North America, but exposure has been slowly diversifying to emerging markets and Japan, where high-quality companies offer significant valuation discounts compared to US equities. However, with US government policy increasing market volatility, this shift has been paused ‘for the time being.’

Sale of Wilson Sons to complete in mid-2025

In October 2024, following a strategic review, Ocean Wilsons announced that it had agreed to sell its 56% holding in Wilson Sons to Shipping Agencies Services Sàrl, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Company for BRL17.50 per share. Ocean Wilsons announced on 20 March that it expects the transaction to complete in Q2 or Q325, depending on regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

Tender offer follows shareholder consultation

Following the sale announcement, the board of Ocean Wilsons undertook a consultation exercise with shareholders regarding the use of the net proceeds. Following feedback and consideration, it was announced that a portion of the proceeds will be returned to shareholders via a tender offer for up to 7,072,608 ordinary shares, representing 20% of the issued share capital. The board is considering strategic options in relation to the use of the remaining net proceeds.

NOT INTENDED FOR PERSONS IN THE EEA

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