Shipping services firm Clarkson PLC (LON:CKN) made headway in the first half of the year despite some choppy conditions in the shipping market.
Underlying profit before tax in the first six months of 2019 rose to £20.1mln from £19.2mln the year before on revenue that jumped to £167.8mln from £152.6mln.
Reported profit before tax, which includes acquisition-related costs, rose to £19.2mln from £18.0mln.
The company highlighted particularly strong trading in its broking division as it left full-year guidance unchanged.
The interim dividend was increased to 25p from 24p.
"As in previous years, our business remains second-half weighted and we anticipate that the upcoming introduction of IMO 2020 will cause market disruption supporting higher freight rates as the supply of available vessels is impacted,” said Andy Case, the chief executive officer of Clarkson.
IMO 2020 is the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) initiative to reduce the amount of sulphur used in fuel.
“This, and a broader rebalancing of supply and demand dynamics means we remain confident in the outlook for Clarksons and the shipping markets, both in the coming months and longer-term,” Case added.