Courage Marine’s decision to reverse its planned exit from shipping looks to be paying dividends as it returned to the black in the first half of the year.
The net profit of $269,000 marked a reversal of the $1.9m loss reported by the Hong Kong-listed bulker owner this time last year.
The shipowner was boosted by the delivery of the 57,000-dwt Grand Pioneer (built 2011), since renamed Polyworld, at the beginning of 2019.
The ship was acquired for $10.89m from Bergen Yangzhou Supramax Carriers, which is controlled by substantial Courage investor Paul Suen Cho Hung.
Courage Marine also posted a 72% year-on-year increase in revenue to $7.46m due largely to its expanded fleet.
Since June 2018, the company has also chartered-in an unnamed panamax bulker which has subsequently been chartered out.
During the first six months of 2019, Courage said it raised three new loans totalling $11.36m.
This included a five-year bank loan of $5.6m, secured by the Polyworld, which carries interest at Libor plus an undisclosed number of basis points.
Courage now has a fleet with a capacity of 253,000-dwt of which about 68% is from its self-owned vessels and the remaining 32% from the chartered-in vessel.
