Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a shipping company specialising in car carriers, posted solid results in the second quarter of 2026. This is partly due to the high demand in Europe for cars from the Far East.
Asian vehicles are selling like hot cakes on the Western market. For shipping companies such as Wallenius Wilhelmsen, which transport these cars to Europe, this means high fleet utilisation and rising freight and charter rates.
This is reflected in the shipping company’s quarterly figures: Wallenius Wilhelmsen generated revenue of $1.305 billion, representing a 4 per cent increase on the previous quarter. EBITDA stood at $361 million, 7 per cent below the previous figure, which can be attributed to higher bunker prices resulting from the conflict in the Middle East. These higher costs are expected to be offset over time via the company’s BAF clauses (fuel adjustments). Net profit for the second quarter was $138 million, a 22 per cent decline compared with the previous quarter.
“We are maintaining our outlook for 2026 and continue to meet our financial targets; for the first half of 2026, we are paying a dividend of $258 million, which represents 82 per cent of net profit,” says Lasse Kristoffersen, President and CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen. A dividend of $0.61 per share will be paid.
“We are pleased to be able to report a solid quarter in line with expectations, despite higher bunker prices,” said the CEO. “In the Shipping division, we continue to see full capacity utilisation on shipments from Asia, and in the Logistics division, we are seeing the first positive effects of the improvement programme.”
The sustained strong demand from Asia led to full capacity utilisation of the car carrier fleet over the course of the quarter. As Wallenius Wilhelmsen reported, demand continues to “significantly” exceed available capacity. Most recently, the shipping company added the “Arctic Tern” – the first vessel in its new “Shaper Class” – to its fleet. The PCTC (Pure Car and Truck Carrier) has a capacity of 9,300 TEU.
“We are practically fully booked and have to make difficult decisions regarding customer prioritisation for shipments from Asia. The market situation remains very tight, particularly in the shipping sector; furthermore, we were able to secure improved rates for new business in the shipping and logistics sectors during the quarter,” explained Kristoffersen. “We are delighted to see how our ability to offer customers end-to-end solutions creates unique added value for both existing and new OEMs. Efficient and resilient supply chains are now at the top of their agenda.”
The logistics division showed positive development. Thanks to “targeted initiatives”, the company achieved an EBITDA of $46 million in this area, representing an 8 per cent increase compared with the previous quarter. This marks the best quarter for the Logistics Services division since before the pandemic, adjusted for the sale of the Australian MIRRAT terminal.
