Castor Maritime has reported a deficit for the first quarter amid higher expenses.
The Petros Panagiotidis-led owner of three bulkers reported a $259,868 loss on Tuesday for the three-month period versus a $55,969 profit during the same period last year.
Vessel expenses came in at $1.39m, up from $469,517 a year earlier. Other first-quarter costs included $852,807 in debt-incurred interest.
Revenue tripled to $2.7m from the same time last year, due to the addition of the 75,311-dwt Magic Sun (built 2001) and 76,602-dwt Magic Moon (built 2005) to its fleet in the autumn.
"We are pleased with our Q1 2020 performance, despite the headwinds experienced, especially during the end of the quarter due to Covid-19," chief executive Panagiotidis said.
"Our chartering strategy has insulated us in the short term from a very weak spot charter market and has allowed us to continue operating on a cash flow positive basis."
Panagiotidis said the company has $13.4m in liquidity that "provides a cushion to withstanding a potentially prolonged weaker market" while chasing growth opportunities.
Castor's daily time-charter equivalent for the first quarter stood at $12,008, up 22.5% from the same period last year.
The company's shares, which trade on Nasdaq as CTRM, slid less than 1% to $0.67 by mid-afternoon on Tuesday.
The Cypriot owner was given more time in late April to bring its share price up to Nasdaq minimum listing requirements.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission notified Castor on 14 April that its stock had been below $1 for 30 business days between 27 February and 13 April.
