J Lauritzen pointed to progress in the dry cargo and LPG sectors as it continued to build up its bulker fleet in the third quarter.
The Danish owner booked a core operating loss of $1.7m for the three months to the end of September, trimming the $9.8m red number at the same stage a year ago.
Mads P. Zacho, chief executive of J Lauritzen, said: “Despite trade war concerns, we remain optimistic in terms of further dry cargo market improvements as fleet growth is moderate.”
The company strengthened its core fleet in the quarter with the charter of four extra handysize ships on medium term deals and the extension of another time-chartered vessel.
Lauritzen said the handysize dry cargo market proved robust in the quarter, with rates up by 12% year-on-year.
The company has a fleet of 78 bulkers, as well as 32 LPG carriers.
Lauritzen described the gas carrier market as resilient, with modest improvements in rates compared to the third quarter of 2017.
“Earnings for our gas carriers were better than expected even though the conditions for our largest ethylene carriers remained challenging,” Zacho added.
