Hans Aasnaes is stepping down as chief executive of dry cargo operator Western Bulk Chartering.
Aasnaes will go once a successor is found. The search for a new CEO will begin immediately, and an interim successor will be appointed soon, the company said on Thursday.
Chairman Bengt Rem said: “I am grateful for the contributions made by Hans throughout his period as CEO… He has led the company through an important phase and has been instrumental in building the company’s strong culture.”
Aasnaes joined Western Bulk in mid-2019, following the departure of Jens Ismar.
He led the company back to a public listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2021. It had previously traded its shares in the over-the-counter market from 2017, following the bankruptcy of its predecessor company.
Aasnaes was previously an executive at Umoe Group, one of Norway’s largest privately owned industrial investment firms.
Annual loss
News of his departure came as Western Bulk announced a financial loss for 2023, during which it did not distribute any quarterly dividends.
The company, which operates bulkers from handysize up to panamax, has booked a net loss of $15.6m after tax for the full year, reversing a profit of $66m in 2022.
Net time charter revenue totalled $9.3m, down from $116m a year earlier, and it made a net margin of $202 per ship day over the 12 months.
The annual result was dragged down by losses booked during the second half, despite an upturn in the supramax market.
Western Bulk recorded a $10.8m loss after tax for the final six months of 2023.
Net time charter revenue totalled $2.3m and the operator’s net time charter margin was $100 per ship day during the period.
Western Bulk explained that mistimed trading tactics resulted in a loss on forward freight agreements and meant it was unable to benefit from an upturn in the market as much as it might have done.
“For most of the year, the company held a negative market view and was careful in taking on long exposure. Vessel owners required a premium to the forward freight market … while cargo was priced at a discount to the paper market,” it said.
“This limited business opportunities and led to difficulties in securing physical tonnage without taking an outright long exposure at what was considered as inflated levels against the paper market…”
This meant at certain times Western Bulk ended up with short positions and a large proportion of cargo commitments covered by more expensive vessels because the market had increased more than expected.
Panama Canal restrictions and increased fees also had a negative impact on its results for the second half of 2023.
The company operated an average of 128 vessels in the second half, up slightly from 125 in the first six months.
Closure
Western Bulk also appears to have quietly shuttered its Copenhagen office, which opened in September 2022 and led its panamax trading activities. It did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the matter by phone and by email.
Thomas Lindgren Jensen had been head of panamax but left in November, according to his LinkedIn profile. Two other staff who were based in the Danish capital are understood to have departed.
The financial report for the second half of 2023 does not list Copenhagen among its network of international offices.
This leaves a question mark over the status of the company’s panamax activities. Neither the first nor second-half report mentions panamax business.
According to the company website, panamax trading is today led by Mohneesh Bhutani, who heads the Indian Ocean commercial team from his base in Dubai.
Western Bulk re-entered the panamax business in late 2022, having previously wound up its presence in the space in April 2015 after failing to create the expected synergies between supramaxes and panamaxes.
