EuroDry has fallen closer to the red side of the ledger yet still outdid analysts' forecasts.
The Aristides Pittas-led spin-off of Euroseas posted $0.56m in net income for the fourth quarter, down from $1.28m a year earlier.
EuroDry was formed on 30 May 2018 when Euroseas' six dry bulk ships were separated from the fleet to allow Euroseas to become an 11-boxship pure player.
EuroDry, which bases its year-over-year results on its current fleet, reported adjusted earnings of $0.7m versus $0.8m for the same period last year.
That translated into earnings per share of $0.31 compared with $0.55 a year earlier, beating Wall Street's take by $0.14.
Revenue improved to $6.99m from $5.76m, due to a higher average number of ships and average time-charter equivalent rates on the back of better dry bulk market rates.
Charter rates improved to $12,513 per day from $11,231 per day, while fleet utilisation stayed virtually at 100%.
However, net expenses tripled to $1.2m, largely due to higher interest costs.
Shareholder reward
Rates during the fourth quarter and into 2019 weakened amid US-China trade tensions but EuroDry secured physical, forward freight agreements and fixed-rate contracts to insulate it against adverse market moves, chief executive Aristides Pittas said.
"We continue to believe that dry bulk markets could offer significant opportunities for sizable returns in the medium term," he said.
The company has finished some loan refinancing, he said, and emissions and ballast water treatment regulations should limit fleet growth for positive trade demand.
"We expect that with time, EuroDry will increase its visibility amongst investors and contribute to reducing the significant discount to the NAV our stock trades at, thus, offering additional rewards to our shareholders," Pittas said.
