Hoegh Autoliners expects to capitalise on booming car carrier markets following a strong summer.
The Norwegian owner said the average gross freight rate for cars in August was $81.40 per cbm, against $77.20 per cbm for June, July and August as a whole.
This was mainly due to the full effect of bunker adjustment clauses in freight contracts.
The Oslo-listed owner carried 4.19m cbm of vehicles in those three months — 1.34m cbm of them in August.
Chief executive Andreas Enger said August was another strong month for the company.
All its ships are in full use, with a good blend of contract cargo and liner cargo, he added.
“The market is characterised by a tight supply/demand balance leading to upward rate pressure and the company is in a good position to take advantage of this,” he said.
In August, Hoegh Autoliners began payouts to shareholders amid increasing profit — for the first time since carrying out an initial public offering late last year and listing on the main market of the Oslo Stock Exchange in May.
New policy
This is part of a new dividend policy adopted by the owner and operator of around 40 ro-ro vessels and car carriers.
Net profit came in at $53m in the second quarter — up 49%. Hoegh Autoliners said it will distribute $15m of that profit to shareholders this month.
Rival Gram Car Carriers this week revealed it had fixed its mid-size 4,300-ceu Viking Diamond (built 2011) and 4,200-teu Viking Ocean (built 2012) over five years to an unnamed major operator.
The tapered rates begin at $50,000 per day in the first 12 months, ending up at $20,000 per day in the final year and averaging out at $35,000 per day. The deals will bring in $127.8m of revenue.
