Norway’s Klaveness Combination Carriers (KCC) believes its versatile vessels have achieved record daily earnings in the first quarter.
The Oslo-listed owner said the fleet average time charter equivalent figure so far is $38,708 per day, up from $31,531 in the final three months of 2022.
The company told TradeWinds this is a new record, being about $3,000 per day higher than the previous best logged in the third quarter last year.
KCC had previously guided for a result in the range of $34,000 to $35,500, based on booked cargoes and expected employment for open capacity.
The company controls Cabu ships that carry caustic soda and dry bulk and Cleanbus, which handle oil products and bulk cargoes.
“TCE earnings were positively impacted by a continued strong product tanker market, while the weaker dry bulk markets in the first part of Q1 had negative effects on mainly the Cabu earnings,” KCC said.
“Capacity in tanker trading ended at 69% for the fleet, reflecting KCC’s ability to allocate capacity to the strongest market,” the company added.
Preliminary Cabu earnings were $31,466 per day, against a guiding range of $28,000 to $29,000.
The actual figure from the fourth quarter was $25,757.
Cleanbus, meanwhile, racked up $45,911, beating guidance of $40,000 to $42,000, and up from $36,812 in the last three months of 2022.
Full results will be revealed on 5 May.
Fearnley Securities bullish
Norwegian investment bank Fearnley Securities began coverage of KCC at the end of March with a “strong buy” recommendation on its shares.
“Strong clean product and dry bulk market fundamentals coupled with historically low orderbooks provide visibility and support for strong fundamentals for years to come,” the analysts said.
The vessels can take laden voyages in both directions, effectively more than halving the number of ballast days.
This also means effective earnings days are drastically higher, Fearnley Securities said.
