Teekay Tankers Ends Quarter in Loss

Nasdaq-listed tanker shipping company Teekay Tankers, a part of Teekay Corporation, has concluded the third quarter of 2016 with a net loss, mainly impacted by lower spot tanker rates in the period.

Namely, the company reported a net loss of USD 5.5 million for the quarter, compared to a net income of USD 40.9 million in the same period a year earlier, partially offset by an increase in fleet size as a result of the acquisition of 19 mid-size tankers during 2015.

At the same time, the shipping firm’s revenues went down to USD 104.6 million from USD 126.4 million reported in the third quarter of 2015.

“Our results during the quarter were impacted by the lowest quarterly crude tanker rates in three years resulting from various factors, including normal seasonality, reduced oil supply due to temporary outages in key export regions, and lower refinery throughput,” Kevin Mackay, Teekay Tankers’ Chief Executive Officer, said.

“Many of the seasonal factors and temporary outages have now diminished or passed, resulting in significantly higher tanker rates so far in the fourth quarter compared with this past August. We anticipate rates for mid-size tankers will continue to strengthen into the fourth quarter,” he added.

In October 2016, Teekay Tankers entered into agreements to sell its final Medium Range (MR) product tanker and two 2002-built Suezmax tankers for an aggregate of USD 47 million.

The MR product tanker is expected to be delivered in November 2016 and the two Suezmax tankers are expected to be delivered between late-2016 and early-2017.

Since August 2016, Teekay Tankers continued to grow its ship-to-ship lightering business, securing two lightering contracts with major oil companies for up to 24 months commencing in the fourth quarter of 2016.

These contracts are expected to utilize up to three Aframax vessel-equivalents at a premium to current spot market rates, according to the company.