Norden has responded to market talk of another investor pay-out by confirming a dividend for the third quarter. The Danish bulker and tanker operator has yet to report its latest earnings figures. But it issued a statement saying it had been made aware “that there is information circulating in the market concerning a potential dividend pay-out of DKK 25 [$3.33] per share in connection with the upcoming Q3 result”. The company confirmed that there are “ongoing internal considerations” related to a dividend. The amount, however, will be decided at the ordinary board meeting on 3 November. “The company has no further comments,” Norden said.

In August, the operator declared an interim dividend of DKK 30 per share, which it said was based on the “strong cash flows and favorable earnings outlook”. It also started a new $40m share buyback programme that runs from 18 August until 1 November.

Earlier in October, the company said it was expecting an even bigger profit for 2022 due to ship sales and market strength.

Norden has upped its earnings estimate five times this year. Annual profit is expected to range from $650m to $730m, up from between $560m and $640m previously. A spokesperson told TradeWinds the hike was due to a “good mix” of factors. Part of the amount relates to some profitable vessel transactions, selling tankers against a background of high asset prices, the spokesperson said.

Good timing on some bulker sales has also helped, “where the asset market has still held up all right for now, despite the recent slowdown”. And the more short-term operator business, Freight Services & Trading, is making good use of a fair amount of tanker exposure to the spot market.

The Copenhagen-listed firm has already made more net profit in the first half of 2022 than it did during 2021. Norden’s bottom line hit $178.7m for the second quarter, compared with $31.8m a year earlier.