Aegean Marine profit slips but hits the mark

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network met analyst expectations as its profit slipped 3.7% in the first quarter.

The Peter Georgiopoulos-backed bunkers supplier reported net income of $11.8m, down from $12.2m in the same period of 2015.

But its earnings per share (EPS) of $0.25 was just as Wall Street predicted.

The New York-listed company moved 4.21 million tonnes of fuel during the period, which marked record sales volume.

President Nikolas Tavlarios noted that this came despite low commodity prices, including a marine fuel price that was at a 13-year low.

"Despite this economic headwind, our unique business model enabled Aegean to capitalise on growth opportunities across our global platform serving 33 markets with more than 60 ports," he said.

"Consistent with our goal of opportunistically entering new markets, we launched bunkering operations in Algoa Bay, a market with strong growth potential. We are pleased with the progress to date in this and remain committed to providing customers with a faster, more efficient and affordable alternative in the region."

Still, he said the company is embarking on an effort to enhance efficiency and cut costs.

Revenue sank to $753m from $1.02m a year earlier. Costs fell 28..1% to $672m.

"We continue to take decisive actions to maintain our strong financial position and significant liquidity in the current challenging environment," said finance chief Spyros Giannotis.

"Aegean has continued to perform in a variety of market conditions and has executed a plan to increase earnings per share of more than 57% on an adjusted basis over the last four years."

Earnings snapshot