Bulker owner Golden Ocean Group has booked another profitable quarter and upped its dividend to shareholders.
The Oslo- and Nasdaq-listed shipowner recorded $163.7m in net profit for the second quarter, equivalent to earnings per share of 83 cents.
This is up from $104.5m during the same period last year, when earnings per share were 63 cents for the company, which counts shipowner John Fredriksen as its biggest shareholder.
Golden Ocean has continued to pay out to shareholders and has declared a dividend of 60 cents per share for the second quarter, 10 cents more than for the first three months of the year.
The shipowner’s chief executive Ulrik Andersen said his company had delivered a “strong” result, “despite trade disruptions and economic headwinds”.
“Our performance is attributable to the strength of our commercial operations as well as the quality of our fleet, which allowed us to generate a solid premium to benchmark rates,” he commented in the firm's financial report.
The firm’s bottom line grew thanks to a sizeable increase in operating revenue, which was up 15% year on year and totalled $316.7m during the three months.
This equates to an average time-charter equivalent (TCE) rate of $29,431 per day for Golden Ocean's operated fleet of 97 vessels, up from $24,920 per day in the same quarter last year.
Golden Ocean’s 56 capesize bulkers earned an average TCE rate of $30,661 per day during the second quarter.
Its 35 panamax and three ultramax vessels together earned $27,581 per day on average.
Looking out across the remainder of 2022, Golden Ocean has high levels of forward coverage this quarter for its fleet and will book a gain on two vessels sold in June.
Andersen struck an upbeat tone in the firm's report.
“Despite recent weakness in freight rates caused by easing port congestion and the contraction in China’s economy due, in part, to its ‘zero-Covid’ policy, our market outlook remains optimistic,” he commented.
“Slowing fleet growth and new environmental regulations provide a strong offset to a potential short-term slowing of demand growth which combined with our charter coverage and superior fuel economics from our modern fleet will support continued healthy returns.”
For the third quarter, Golden Ocean has 80% of its available capesize days booked at an average rate of $27,900 per day and has 96% of its panamax days covered at $27,100 per day.
But the firm has left its options more open during the final quarter of 2022.
It has forward bookings for 25% of its available capesize days at $29,500 per day on average. Its panamax fleet is booked at an average daily rate of $21,900 for 27% of available days.
The sale of two ultramax bulkers — the 60,300-dwt Golden Cecilie and Golden Cathrine (both built 2015) — for $63m in June is expected to generate a $22m gain when the vessels are delivered by the end of this year. The buyer has not yet been disclosed.
Golden Ocean also ordered three kamsarmax bulkers in June at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corp (DSIC), bringing its orderbook at the Chinese yard to 10 newbuildings.
The kamsarmax trio, which are set for delivery in 2015, will be financed partly from the sale proceeds from the two ultramaxes and with debt financing that has still to be arranged.
In May, Golden Ocean completed a $275m refinancing of 14 capesize vessels that will lower its daily breakeven rate by $500 for the capesize fleet overall.
