Handysize specialist Pioneer Marine has agreed to offload four of its vessels after reporting a net loss for 2020.
The Athens-based company said in an earnings release that it has decided to take advantage of a positive momentum in the secondhand market for bulkers in order to dispose of four ships.
Pioneer identified neither the vessels nor their buyers, merely disclosing that it concluded the deals in February with unrelated third parties.
The company will deliver the ships to their new owners by May. However, it will continue to fully manage three of them.
Just one of Pioneer's deals seems to have leaked to market circles so far. London-based brokers reported earlier this month that Egyptian interests spent $6.8m on its 28,300-dwt Eden Bay (built 2008).
The Shimanami Shipyard-built vessel is said to be equipped with a ballast-water treatment system (BWTS) and to have a dry-docking date due in May.
The Eden Bay is one of the oldest units among the 13 handysizes that Pioneer owns and which were built between 2006 and 2016. Pioneer Marine's fleet separately includes one commercially managed and one chartered-in handysize.
Pioneer sold another four handysizes last year. It incurred non-cash impairments from these deals, which worsened the optics of its 2020 results.
Net loss for the full year of 2020 came in at $14.5m, up from $12.5m the year before. The 2020 result includes an $11.5m accounting charge from the vessels it sold that year. Adjusted for this and other one-off items, net loss for 2020 would have been much narrower, amounting to $2.7m.
Pioneer said markets looked up in the fourth quarter, during which it crossed into profit with adjusted net income reaching $900,000.
Chief executive Jim Papoulis said the positive trend looks like it will continue in 2021.
“Looking ahead, we expect dry bulk rates in 2021 will remain at very good levels due to the overall market strength as well as other important factors,” he said.
“Our first quarter 2021 fixtures reflect these rapidly improving market conditions, and we remain well-positioned and committed to continue to take actions, which will serve our strategic targets of sustainable growth."
Pioneer is listed on Oslo's NOTC market. A major company shareholder is the US-based fund Garrison Investment Group, whose founder and managing director Joseph Tansey has a seat on Pioneer's board.
