Hoegh Autoliners says the negative financial effects of rerouting vessels via the Cape of Good Hope due to the Red Sea security situation will persist into the first quarter.
The car carrier’s shares dropped 6.5% to NOK 95.6 ($9.30) in early Oslo trading on Thursday.
The company forecasts reduced volumes from longer voyages and increased bunker expenses.
“We are systematically working to offset this by cargo repricing and possibly implementing extra charges,” chief executive Andreas Enger said.
ABG Sundal Collier said the Red Sea effect in the first quarter is not possible to quantify yet.
In December, Hoegh Autoliners transported 1.3m cmb of cargo on a prorated basis. Transported cargo in the quarter of 2023 was 4m cbm.
Average prorated gross freight rate last month was $94.70 per cbm compared with $95.50 per cbm in November. The average prorated net freight rate in December was $82.10 per cbm versus $83.60 per cbm the month before.
“A successful year for Hoegh Autoliners ended with yet another strong month in terms of operational and financial performance. Both net freight rate and gross freight rate are close to the record levels we achieved in the two previous months,” Enger said.
The company experienced “some volume reduction in December following from longer voyages due to the rerouting of sailings via Cape of Good Hope due to the situation in the Red Sea”.
There was “little news” in the December data, as expected, ABG said in a note.
