A seasonal downturn and the loss from a May ship sale held down Ardmore Shipping's second quarter earnings.
The New York-traded shipowner posted a $9.9m loss on Wednesday, versus an $8.6m loss for the same period the year prior.
The performance came in a quarter where Ardmore was able to grow revenue on a year-over-year basis by $2.6m to $55m, while its ships earned higher rates and it cut most expenses modestly.
But it's May sale of the 45,477-dwt Ardmore Seafarer (built 2004) for $9.1m forced it to take a $6.6m loss, pushing its results deeper into the red.
"The second quarter reflected a typical seasonal decline marked by notably high refinery maintenance levels, with refineries frontloading maintenance in preparation for increased throughput during the second half of 2019 to meet demand for IMO 2020-compliant low-sulphur fuels," said chief executive Anthony Gurnee.
The Ardmore Seafarer was the Irish company's oldest ship. It was sold to Indian owner Seven Seas Shipping and renamed the Sparkle, according to VesselsValue.
The sale left Ardmore with a fleet of 25 ships, none older than 13 years and with an average age just short of six years.
The second quarter results came in at $0.30 loss per share, falling well short of analyst expectations of $0.10 loss per share.
Gurnee added that the rollout of the IMO 2020 emissions regulations "are unfolding as expected" as bunker providers prepare to begin supplying the compliant low-sulphur fuel.
"Overall, we estimate that the increases in refinery throughput and heightened oil trading activity will result in a roughly 5% additional layer of product tanker demand commencing in the next few months with the potential to last up to two years before markets reach equilibrium," he said.
