DryShips Optimistic Despite Loss

Nasdaq-listed DryShips reported a net loss of USD 24 million for the fourth quarter of 2014, a slight improvement compared to a USD 24.4 million loss recorded for the same period in 2013.

The dry bulk and petroleum shipper says the company would have ended the fourth quarter with a USD 14.1 million profit, had it not been for a USD 38.1 million impairment charge on one of its bulkers.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, the company reported a net loss of USD 47.5 million, despite a significant increase in revenues in the fourth quarter, driven largely by the improved operating results of the company’s majority owned subsidiary Ocean Rig.

In the dry bulk carrier segment, net voyage revenues amounted to USD 46.1 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2014, as compared to USD 45.4 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2013.

For the tanker segment, net voyage revenues were USD 23.9 million in 4Q,  as compared to USD 11.9 million for the same period in 2013.

In the offshore drilling segment, revenues from drilling contracts increased by USD 153.9 million to USD 499.4 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2014, as compared to USD 345.5 million for the same period in 2013.

The Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) rate for the company’s dry bulk fleet was USD 12,974 per day per vessel in the three month period ended December 31, 2014, as compared to USD 13,303 per day per vessel in the corresponding period of 2013.

The TCE rate for the tanker fleet was USD 26,003 per day per vessel in the three month period ended December 31, 2014, which is a significant improvement compared to the USD 12,963 per day per vessel in the corresponding period of 2013.

”The drybulk market remains challenging but we feel that we are getting closer to the bottom with each passing day as the increased scrapping activity of older vessels this year indicates. With no newbuildings on order, Dryships is better positioned than most of its peers in this downturn and with its large amount of spot market exposure is uniquely placed to take advantage of any increase in freight rates,” George Economou, Dry Ships Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said.

“Lastly, turning to the crude tanker markets, the fundamentals for 2015 remain extremely bullish. Our fourth quarter results include only in a limited way the stronger freight market that started since last November, which will be more fully reflected in our first quarter results. With few newbuilding deliveries and healthy demand driven by the lower oil price, the strong tanker market should extend well into 2016.”