Scorpio Tankers Widens Net Loss

Monaco-based tanker owner Scorpio Tankers wrapped up the first three quarters of this year with a widened net loss.

Impacted by challenging market conditions, the company suffered a net loss of USD 172.4 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2018, compared to a net loss of USD 116.7 million posted in the same period a year earlier.

In addition, Scorpio Tankers’ net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, stood at USD 71.7 million, against a net loss of USD 36.9 million seen in the corresponding three-month period of 2017.

From June 2018 through October 2018, the company closed on agreements to refinance a total of 41 of its vessels through a series of bank loans and lease financing arrangements raising USD 321.7 million of new liquidity, after the repayment of the existing secured debt related to these vessels.

In September and October 2018, the company entered into an agreement to retrofit 23 of its LR2s with scrubbers. It also signed letters of intent with suppliers, engineering firms, and ship repair facilities to cover the purchase and installation of scrubbers on substantially all of its remaining owned and financed leased LR2, LR1, and MR tanker vessels  — approximately 67 vessels — between Q2 2019 and Q2 2020.

The scrubbers and their installation are expected to cost between USD 1.5 and USD 2.2 million per vessel, and the company anticipates that between 60-70% of these costs will be financed.

In October 2018, the company raised estimated net proceeds of USD 319.7 million in an underwritten public offering of 182.2 million shares of common stock.

Scorpio Tankers currently owns or finance leases 109 product tankers with an average age of 3.2 years and time or bareboat charters-in 13 product tankers.