Ernst Russ Eyes Further Fleet Expansion

After it acquired five container ships, German company Ernst Russ said that it is looking to expand its fleet with more vessels.

The company informed that the market environment is currently “very attractive, with historically low asset prices and a positive supply and demand ratio.”

Therefore, the company took advantage of this to acquire five feeder class vessels. Two ships were acquired as proprietary investments, while ElbFeeder, an investment vehicle established with a joint venture partner, acquired an additional three ships.

“The plan to expand the fleet through the acquisition of additional ships is currently being put into action,” Ernst Russ said.

The plans were unveiled as part of the company’s financial report, in which Ernst Russ informed that it continued to deliver positive business performance.

The company’s revenue increased 10 percent year-on-year to EUR 44 million. Consolidated net earnings before tax (EBT) came to EUR 9.3 million, following what was also a good result in the previous year of over EUR 10 million.

“On the whole, we built a good basis in 2017 for continued economic success in the future,” Jens Mahnke, CEO of Ernst Russ AG, said, summarising the stable performance of the Ernst Russ Group.