Western Bulk has returned to the panamax dry bulk market almost eight years after it quit the sector, the company has confirmed.
The shipowner established the new commercial team in a new office in Copenhagen late last year, but up to now had made no formal announcement.
The operation is headed up by Thomas Lindgren Jensen who was recruited from Nordic Bulk Carriers in September last year, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Western Bulk said its clients in the panamax segment are primarily involved in iron ore, coal, bauxite, grains and fertilisers.
The shipowner closed its panamax business in April 2015 after it failed to create the expected synergies between supramaxes and panamaxes.
Western Bulk said at the time that a strategic decision was taken to focus only on the segments where through its scale, history and relationships it had been able to extract value over time.
News of the return to the panamax segment came as Western Bulk reported record second-half year results of $28.6m helping it to post a full-year profit of $66m from $1.6bn in gross revenues.
“That is the second-best full-year result in the company’s history, only outperformed by last year’s net profit after tax of $81m for the full-year of 2021,” Western Bulk said.
“Entering the second half of 2022, supramax market rates were at about $25,200 per day and declined more or less continuously over the six-month period, ending the year at about $10,600 per day.
“Current supramax spot rates are at about $7,500 per day, and the global dry bulk market is expected to face continued headwinds in the near term before starting another upward cycle towards the end of 2023,” it added.
Therefore, the company said it anticipates lower results in the first half of 2023 compared to the second half of 2022.
Western Bulk said the average number of vessels remained relatively low in the second half of 2022, decreasing slightly from an average fleet of 113 vessels in the first half of the year to an average of 109 vessels in the second half.
The shipowner said it has an ambition to increase the number of vessels provided the right market circumstances and opportunities.
“As the market continued to decline throughout 2022, there was limited availability of period vessels at competitive levels, as owners’ expectations were higher than what could be justified based on the company’s own market views and the forward freight market,” it added.
Looking ahead, Western Bulk said forward freight agreements (FFA) are indicating rates of just below $14,000 per day for the majority of 2023.
“Based on this, net time charter margins in the range of $1,000 to $1,500 per day should be achievable, although performance is likely to vary between quarters,” it said.
“Volume will depend on market circumstances and opportunities, although the company has a clear ambition to increase activity.”
