Euronav’s Quarterly Earnings Halved

Belgian tanker owner Euronav NV has ended the fourth quarter of 2016 with a net profit of USD 50 million, representing a significant drop from a net profit of USD 104.9 million seen in the same period a year earlier.

The company’s revenue for the quarter stood at USD 146.2 million, down from USD 225.6 million reported in the same period a year earlier.

“Euronav had an active Q4 resulting in a letter of award for our FSO joint venture for a five-year contract, refinancing over USD 400 million of company debt on better terms and duration plus executing a sale and leaseback on four vessels. This has further bolstered our already strong balance sheet and gives us the flexibility to navigate the tanker sector cycle from a position of strength,” Paddy Rodgers, CEO of Euronav, said.

For the full year of 2016, the company’s net income was USD 203.7 million, compared to USD 350.3 million seen in 2015, while the revenue for the respective periods was at USD 684.2 million, down from USD 846.5 million.

Rodgers added that tanker owner sentiment and behavior continues to be “relatively brittle” despite medium-term positive market fundamentals, while freight rates in what historically is the strongest quarter in any calendar year were subdued.

Euronav expects that 2017 will present a number of challenges, including OPEC production cuts, peak delivery schedule of the order book, continued restricted access to finance and anemic owner confidence, which when combined, “are all likely to produce a difficult rate environment for 2017.”