Ardmore Closes Q1 in Red

Bermuda-headquartered owner and operator of product and chemical tankers Ardmore Shipping Corporation suffered a net loss of USD 2.2 million in the first quarter of 2017, sinking from a net income of USD 6.7 million posted in the same period a year earlier. 

However, revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, increased to USD 49.7 million from USD 43.5 million seen in the three-month period of 2016.

“We are satisfied with our performance in the first quarter, as our fleet continued to perform well under soft charter market conditions.

“Following delivery of the last of the recently acquired eco-design MRs in November 2016, this was the first quarter with all six vessels in operation; these vessels made a very positive contribution to our financial performance in the quarter,” Anthony Gurnee, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, commented.

During the quarter, spot and pool MR tankers earnings amounted to an average of USD 13,131 per day and eco-design chemical tankers earnings stood at an average of USD 12,907 per day.

As of May 2, the company has fixed around 40% of its total MR spot and pool revenue days for the second quarter 2017 at approximately USD 14,000 per day and about 40% of its Eco-Design IMO 2 product/chemical tankers spot and pool revenue days at approximately USD 12,000 per day.

“MR charter rates increased modestly from the prior quarter, driven by increased activity in the Atlantic basin, while high refined product inventory levels have continued to put downward pressure on tonne mile demand,” Gurnee further said.

“Looking beyond the near-term spot market, we remain confident that the underlying fundamentals and outlook for the MR tanker sector are very positive. Demand growth is set to continue in the 4-5% range, driven by increased consumption and export-oriented refinery activity, while supply growth for MRs is slowing; the orderbook is at historical lows, scrapping continues to take place, and the pace of deliveries will decline further over the course of 2017.  Taken together, these trends should result in net fleet growth well below projected demand growth,” Gurnee concluded.

Currently, Ardmore has 27 vessels in operation, comprising 21 eco MR tankers and six eco-design IMO 2 product/chemical tankers.