Navios Maritime Containers reported a slump in third-quarter profit, adding to a sharp fall in earnings for the first nine months as a larger fleet pushed management costs higher.
The Angeliki Frangou-led boxship owner's net profit through September dropped 64.7% to $4.57m, driven by a 19.7% fall in Ebitda to $41.4m.
Earnings per share (EPS) also took a hard fall, declining 66.7% to $0.13.
The Nasdaq-listed company's decline in Ebitda was mainly due to a $10.3m surge in fleet management fees to $48.9m amid a 24.7% spike in available vessel days to 7,685 days compared to the same time frame last year.
Navios Containers pays management fees to a subsidiary of its parent, New York-listed Navios Maritime Holdings. The two Frangou-backed shipowners forged a deal in August that will see Navios Containers pay 3% more starting in January for technical and management services.
Meanwhile, the containership owner reported that revenue for the period came in at $102.5m, up from $99.5m a year ago.
Despite the lower year-to-date results, Frangou was still happy with her New York-listed company's 24.8% slip in third-quarter profit to $4.07m from a year earlier.
"I am pleased with the results for the third quarter of 2019," the chief executive said in a statement.
"We believe that Navios Containers is well-positioned going into 2020.
"It enjoys materially improved charter rates, with current market rates having increased by almost 70% since the first quarter of 2019."
Navios Containers' revenue slipped 2.9% to $37m while Ebitda slid 14.4% to $16.5m.
The company owns 29 vessels totalling 142,821 teu. The fleet's average age is 11.3 years.
This story has been amended to reflect that management fees rise by 3% in 2020 for two years, and to correct the company's nine-month revenue.
