Bunker Holdings CEO: The Bunker Industry Needs Consolidation

CEO Keld Demant said its multiple offices will help it grow

Bunker Holdings plans to grow 50 percent in five years as the industry consolidates, the company's newly appointed CEO, Keld Demant, told industry news site ShippingWatch.

After-tax profits for the company, whose subsidiaries include Dan-Bunkering and Global Risk Management, declined over the past year, to $48 million from $59.9 million the previous year, but Demant said the reduction in business was a strategic choice.

"We believe it makes sense to lower the growth a little, to only reach for the fruits that are within reach," he said.

Bunker Holdings says it represents 7 to 8 percent of the global bunker market, which makes it a relatively large part of the industry.

"We're in an industry packed with players, around 760 globally, but relatively few of them, including us, are major organisations with many offices covering many time zones," Demant said.

"The industry needs consolidation, and we believe that there are still opportunities out there."

The company expanded its loan facilities in October, which Demant said will help it acquire other companies, something it is now negotiating.

He said Bunker Holdings also plans to open new offices, possibly including locations in Africa and South America.

Demant said the company has avoided growing too quickly because of continuing weakness in the shipping industry, which has made it cautious about entering businesses where it would need to provide more credit to shipping companies for bunker sales.

"We're taking small steps all the time, and we do expect a slightly better result next year, but I'm afraid we'll probably have to wait till 2014 or 2015 before turning to the know to full speed ahead," Demant said.