Navios Partners Sees Red Ink, Eyes USD 400 Mn Loan

Greek owner and operator of container and dry bulk vessels Navios Maritime Partners has plunged into red as it reported a net loss of USD 52.5 million of the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to a net income of USD 41.8 million seen in the previous year.

The result was negatively affected by USD 27.2 million of impairment loss on the sale of the 13,100 TEU containership MSC Cristina, sold for USD 125 million, and the 52,073 dwt Navios Apollon, sold for a total net sale price of USD 4.8 million.

The company’s time charter and voyage revenues stood at USD 190.5 million in 2016, down from USD 223.6 million reported a year earlier, mainly attributable to the decrease in Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) to USD 16,364 per day from USD 19,739 per day reported in 2015.

Despite the drop in numbers, Angeliki Frangou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Navios Partners, said: “I am pleased with the results for 2016, a year of many challenges.”

“We actively managed our liquidity in 2016, generating about USD 151 million from the sale of vessels and securities. We also reduced long-term debt by almost USD 178 million and increased the collateral value of the Term Loan B by about USD 100 million. Overall, we are positioned to take advantage of a recovery in the dry sector,” Frangou added.

For the fourth quarter, Navios Partners reported a net loss of USD 2 million, negatively affected by an impairment loss for the Navios Apollon, against a net income of USD 7.8 million seen in the same quarter in 2015. The company’s time charter and voyage revenues for the respective periods fell to USD 49.6 million from USD 53.3 million.

The decrease in revenues was mainly due to a drop in TCE to USD 16,954 per day for the three month period from USD 18,223 per day seen in 2015, driven by a decline in the freight market during the year.

Navios Partners has currently contracted out 72.6% of its available days for 2017, 38.2% for 2018 and 20.1% for 2019, including index-linked charters, respectively, expecting to generate revenues of approximately USD 111.9 million, USD 82.4 million and USD 54.7 million, respectively.

The average expected daily charter-out rate for the fleet is USD 19,240, USD 26,690 and USD 24,972 for 2017, 2018 and 2019, according to the company.

In a separate announcement, Navios Partners said that it intends to launch syndication of a USD 400 million term loan B, subject to market conditions. The company intends to use the net proceeds from loan to refinance the existing term loan B and to pay related fees and expenses.