StealthGas expects the trade war to continue hitting its bottom line, as rhetoric between the US and China heats up.
Chief executive Harry Vafias said the company would remain "on the conservative side" when discussing its fortunes for the third quarter on the gas carrier's earnings call Thursday.
"If you tell me what Trump will do, I will be very glad to answer the question," he said when asked about utilisation for the third quarter.
"We would expect that these trade wars and sanctions on different countries that are big in LPG would have been eliminated by now," he added. "This hasn't happened. So yes, we feel Q3 would be the same as Q2, and we are confident for a better Q4."
For the second three months of 2019, StealthGas booked a $200,000 loss, better than the $400,000 loss for the same period last year, despite 95% utilisation for the quarter.
The company said the dip was brought on by Asian receivers holding off on buying petrochemicals, limiting arbitrage opportunities for traders and forcing ships into less lucrative spot markets.
In late trading Friday, StealthGas shares were down 8.3% to $3.20 amid a broader downturn in shipping stocks brought on by $75bn in retaliatory tariffs announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier in the day.
US President Donald Trump shot back in a series of tweets, blaming the Federal Reserve for a lack of action before demanding US companies take action.
"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA," Trump wrote.
