Cypriot owner Castor Maritime has logged a loss in weaker third-quarter bulker markets.
But the Nasdaq-listed bulker and container ship player said it is still looking to modernise its fleet after sales of older ships this year.
The Limassol-headquartered owner’s net loss came in at $5.4m to 30 September, down from profit of $18.3m a year ago.
Revenue fell to $21.4m, against $39.4m in 2022, while Ebitda declined to $2.5m compared to $24.6m.
Cash and restricted cash totalled $95m at 30 September, down from $109.9m at the end of 2022.
Chief executive Petros Panagiotidis said: “We continued to observe softness in the dry cargo market compared to the third quarter a year ago, which affected our revenues and cash flows.
“We have disposed of a number of our dry cargo vessels in order to improve the profile of our fleet.
“We enjoy a strong balance sheet and we remain committed to our growth trajectory by seeking further opportunities in the shipping space, including opportunities to modernise our fleet.”
Debt from continuing operations was $102.3m, of which $19.5m is repayable within one year.
Borrowings are down from $140.5m on 31 December last year.
Bulkers offloaded
In October, Castor sold two more bulkers acquired during an astonishing purchase spree between 2019 and 2021.
The 75,000-dwt Magic Sun (built 2001) went for $6.55m and the 78,000-dwt Magic Phoenix (built 2008) was sold for $14m.
These were the fifth and sixth ships offloaded by the company this year.
Castor said it expected to book a net gain of $1m from the sale of the Magic Sun but a loss of $2.6m from the other vessel.
