Hoegh Autoliners rates and volumes continue climbing.
The Oslo-listed car carrier owner said on Tuesday that it transported 1.4m cbm of cargo in April while earning net freight rates of $74.80 per cbm. Both figures are on a prorated basis.
“April was another good month for Höegh Autoliners. Rates and volumes were slightly above the average for [the first quarter],” chief executive Andreas Enger said.
“We continued to work closely with our customers to solve their transportation needs and renew contracts at sustainable rate levels.”
Fearnley Securities said the 1.4m cbm figure was up 60,000 cbm from April of 2022 while the $74.80 per cbm net freight rate was up from the $74.40 per cbm reported in first quarter earnings last week, but slightly down from March’s figures.
Fearnley analyst Oystein Vaagen said the renewal of expiring contracts at market rates was behind the improved performance, alongside the apparent third quarter 2022 decision to carry more cars versus heavy machinery.
“[Hoegh Autoliners] has roughly 70% of its revenue on 1-3 year fixed rate contracts, which means that [it] has an average runtime of 24 months on current spot rates for 70% of its revenues,” he said.
“Moreover, recent long-term fixings show that [the company] can increase the duration of fixed rate contracts, further increasing their earnings visibility.”
During its first quarter webcast, Enger said declined to disclose rates for the company’s renewed contracts — which swelled in duration from just under 2 years in the second half of 2022 to nearly 5 in the first several months of 2023.
But he did call negotiations with customers a “breakthrough” for Hoegh Autoliners and noted it has 35 contracts coming open next year and 42 in 2025.
In midday trading in Oslo, the company’s shares dipped NOK 0.25 ($0.02), or 0.4%, to NOK 68.20.
