Germany's MPC Capital shouldered a €2.5m ($2.9m) hit from container shipping markets in the first half of the year.
But the weak performance of its container business was largely compensated by a stronger tanker market, the asset manager said.
The Hamburg-based company revealed an impairment on shares held indirectly in Oslo-listed MPC Container Ships (MPCC) in the first half of the year.
While the recapitalisation of MPCC was completed in July, the challenging situation prompted a substantial correction to asset values, the company said.
The write-downs led contributed to a reduction in MPC Capital's financial assets to €68m at the end of June, down from €74.6m at the end of 2019.
Assets under management in shipping declined by €300m to €1.9bn.
Tanker support
But MPC Capital's performance was shored up by a well-timed diversification into the tanker sector.
In November 2019, the company bought 50% of Albis Shipping & Transport, which is a commercial platform for tankers of various sizes.
The move helped lift interim revenues to €24.8m for the six months to the end of June this year, up from €20m in the same period in 2019.
The company's tanker activities are focused on product tankers, especially in the handysize, MR, LR1 and LR2 segments.
MPC Capital's investments in the containership segment were hit "especially hard", according to its interim statement.
That resulted in a small consolidated profit of €137,000 in the first half of the year, down from €1.2m in the same period last year.
The company said its container shipping investments had been burdened from the pandemic in the first half year.
But the outfit pointed to "positive momentum" as emerging in the boxships sector in the third-quarter.
The company suspended earnings forecast in May.
MPC Capital will continue to do so for the foreseeable future due to continuing market uncertainty due to the pandemic.
"We must continue to expect a volatile development in markets for the second half of 2020," the company added.
Broader investments
MPC Capital manages more than 70 containerships from 1,000 teu up to 5,500 teu.
Those are commercially managed by shipbroking outfit Harper Petersen, which was formed last year through a merger of MPC's container operation Contchart with those of the Zeaborn Group.
In July, MPC Capital sold a 50% stake in its technical ship management division Ahrenkiel Steamship to Singapore-based Wilhelmsen Ship Management.
But it has has broadened its investments to include dry and tanker assets.
MPC Capital is a partner in AVB Bulk, a technical manager of bulkers formed together with German shipping companies Vogemann and Aug.Bolten.
