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SAAM Towage renews fleet while growing earnings
The Latin American tugboat owner has ordered electric-powered vessels and opened operations centres to drive growth in its towage business
SAAM Towage has opened operations control centres, introduced electric tugs into its fleet and expanded its operations in Brazil and Canada.
The Santiago, Chile-headquartered owner had a positive year in 2024, increasing its net income and earnings from towage and logistics operations, while investing in technology, its tugboat fleet and new propulsion systems.
SAAM group is focusing on towage and logistics after selling its port terminal and inland logistics operations in August 2023.
“Overall, 2024 was positive. We continued to move forward with our strategy to consolidate our leadership in the towage industry in the region,” said SAAM chief executive Macario Valdés. “Not only did we complete the process of integrating new assets, but we also worked hard to strengthen our internal capabilities, which will allow us to continue growing in the future.”
SAAM said its milestones in 2024 included opening operations control centres for the towage business, incorporating the first two electric-powered tugboats into the western Canadian fleet, launching the 2030 sustainability strategy and implementing a risk and process management model.
SAAM also attended the launch of a newbuild battery-electric tugboat by Sanmar Shipyards in Turkey for its operations in Chile last year. Sanmar has previously built two battery-powered tugs for SAAM’s operations in British Columbia, Canada.
SAAM group’s towage operations remained stable compared with 2023, mainly due to growth in Brazil and Canada, which offset lower volumes in Panama and Chile.
“Time charter days, associated with dedicated towage services at energy and mining terminals, increased by 13% because of contracts in Brazil and St Croix,” SAAM said.
During 2024, SAAM finished integrating the assets acquired from Starnav in Brazil and Pertraly in Ecuador.
In 2024, SAAM reported revenue of US$578M, up 7% compared with 2023, net income of US$59M and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation of US$188M, up 17% versus 2023.
The company’s board of directors agreed to propose a final dividend of US$39M to shareholders at the annual general meeting. Together with the interim dividend of US$20M paid in November 2024, this brings the total dividends charged to 2024 earnings to US$59M.
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