Thoresen Shipping said it remains optimistic for the dry bulk market in the second half of the year after posting a 75% decline in second-quarter net profit.
The Thai shipowner booked net income from April to June of THB 437.9m ($12.5m), against the THB 1.76bn seen 12 months earlier.
Freight revenues came in at THB 2.1bn, a 52% year-on-year drop as market freight rates declined from exceptionally high levels in 2022.
Thoresen said its supramax fleet achieved average daily freight rates of $14,719 during the quarter. The highest rate achieved during the period was $28,023 per day.
However, the shipowner said it continued to outperform the net supramax time charter rate of $10,225 per day by 44%.
For its chartered-in business, gains decreased 58% year on year in line with a reduction in the number of vessels to an average of 10.5 to 7.7 vessels.
Meanwhile, vessel operating expenses were $4,500 per day, which increased 14% year on year mainly from higher crew expenses and increased technical expenses.
Looking ahead, Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, chief executive of parent Thoresen Thai Agencies, said moderate market conditions are anticipated to persist in the second half of the year.
Although he said there remains the potential for periods of upside, stimulated by seasonal factors.
“The outlook for the full-year 2023 supply-demand fundamentals seems moderately balanced,” he said.
“Clarksons Research forecasts dry bulk trade growth at 2.7% in [tonnes] or 3.3% in [tonne-miles] and fleet expansion of 2.9% in [deadweight tonnes], with China-driven demand growth countered by a moderate fleet expansion.
“On the other hand, the orderbook for newbuilds remains at around a 30-year low of 7% of fleet capacity, partly reflecting uncertainty in the new ship design in compliance with the new environmental regulations,” he added.
Mahagitsiri said environmental regulations such as Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index and Carbon Intensity Indicator could reduce available bulker supply by an estimated of 2.0% to 2.5% in 2023 and 2024 through slower speeds and retrofit time.
Thoresen’s fleet at the end of the quarter stood at 24 owned vessels comprising 22 supramaxes and two ultramaxes with an average size of 55,913 dwt and an average age of 15.2 years.
