Ardmore Shipping slipped into the red in the fourth quarter with a bottom line loss in line with Wall Street forecasts.
New York-listed Ardmore today reported a $3.7m loss for the final three months of 2016, compared with a profit of $5.4m in the same stretch a year ago.
Its loss per share of $0.11 measured up with consensus projections.
Ardmore did not pay a dividend for the period, in line with its policy to hand over 60% of earnings from continued operations to investors.
Cork-based Ardmore remained in the black for the full year with a profit of $3.7m, below the $32m recorded for 2015.
“The charter market performance for the year reflected a strong first half that was partially offset by weakness in the second half, driven by high inventory levels and low oil trading activity, coupled with the high pace of MR newbuilding deliveries in 2016,” said chief executive Anthony Gurnee.
“We believe that underlying demand growth fundamentals will prevail again starting later this year and, coupled with the very low orderbook and a significantly reduced pace of deliveries, will set the stage for a strong and sustained charter market recovery.”
Gurnee pointed to a refinancing of debt and June’s follow-on offering to support the purchase of six MR tankers from Frontline as major developments in 2016.
With a larger fleet and charter market recovery expected in 2017, he predicted strong returns this year.
