Trade wars, sluggish commodity prices and policy uncertainty weighed on shipping and logistics group Grindrod in the first half, with the company expecting to report lower exports and narrower margins from last year.
On Wednesday, the group announced that interim terminal volumes slipped to 6.7-million tonnes a year, compared with 6.9-million in the first half of 2024.
Exports from its dry-bulk terminal, operated by the port of Maputo, fell to 5.2-million tonnes a year in the five months to end-May, compared with 5.8-million before.
The group cited weak mining commodity prices in the first five months, with trade tensions and the “continuing slowdown on global growth” weighing on the iron ore, lithium, graphite and coal markets.
Grindrod owns a 24.7% stake in the concession to operate Mozambique’s Port of Maputo, a transit port that has borne the brunt of that country’s post-election protests and civil unrest since late last year.
This continues to weigh on the Maputo port’s earnings, with Grindrod’s share declining to R165.9m from R178m in the year-earlier period.
In line with this, the firm’s logistics segment saw its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) margin narrow to 25% from 32% previously.
Despite the headwinds, Grindrod made progress on its growth strategy, which focuses on slimming down its core activities within logistics and transport.
The company has been actively divesting of its noncore assets in recent years, including the disposal of Grindrod Bank in 2022 and the sale of North Coast property-backed loans to African Bank in March.
In May, the firm announced its intention to exit its 50% stake in marine fuel trading business Cockett, the last peripheral noncore assets, earning R0.9bn in cash from the sale.
The group also consolidated its ownership of the Matola terminal during the period under review by purchasing the remaining 35% interest in its share capital for R1.4bn.
“The consolidation of the Matola terminal is already delivering value through the full ownership of the asset,” said the company.
“The first half of 2025 was a tale of two distinct quarters with a slow start to the year followed by a solid recovery from March, particularly in Terminals.
“The ships agency and clearing and forwarding business remained resilient during the period, however, container and graphite volumes in northern Mozambique remained subdued,” it said.
Grindrod warned that “continuing slowdown in global growth, trade tensions and policy uncertainty will add downward pressure on the mining commodity market outlook”.
The group plans to release its interim results on August 22.
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