Eagle Bulk Shipping is back in the black, thanks to a better top line on the back of an improved market.
The New York-listed bulker owner posted a $6.5m profit versus a $16.6m loss a year ago, resulting in a $0.09 earnings per share that is in line with Wall Street consensus.
Revenue came in at $86.7m compared to $74.6m as time charter equivalent rates improved to $12,142 from $10,452.
Expenses shot up about up about 25% to $24.7m from a year ago, thanks to more freight voyages and higher bunker prices.
Chief executive Gary Vogel noted that TCE rates for the fourth quarter represent the eighth consecutive three-month period that his company has outperformed the Baltic Supramax Index.
Eagle Bulk has reserved 90% of its fleet available days for the first quarter at a TCE rate of $9,124.
For the year, the company reported a $12.6m profit versus a $43.8m loss during the same time frame in 2017.
No capesize exposure
Deutsche Bank analyst Amit Mehrotra said the result was in line with its forecast and consensus.
"While all drybulk sub-segments have come under pressure in 2019, Eagle’s mid-sized bulker fleet has been spared from the worst of the downturn as the company has no cape exposure and thus remains largely insulated from the negative ramifications of the Vale dam disaster," he added.
Mehrotra said: "We maintain our optimistic outlook for midsized bulkers, which sport a near record low orderbook of about 10%.
"In addition, minor bulk trade easily outpaced major bulk growth in 2018 (4.5% vs 1.4%) and we expect continued out-performance in 2019 as the sub-segment is less reliant on China and serves a wider range of countries/cargoes."
