In a rough quarter for tankers, it was especially rough for Diamond S Shipping.
The Connecticut-based owner of both crude and product tankers reported a $33.6m loss for the first three months of 2021. The figure dropped to $28.8m when items associated with its effort to merge with International Seaways are taken into account.
The unadjusted loss was $0.84 per share and $0.72 when adjusted — both considerably lower than the $0.63 consensus loss per share expected by Wall Street as calculated by Yahoo Finance.
For the first quarter of 2020, Diamond S posted a $45m profit.
"The decrease in net income for the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020 is primarily related to weaker tanker market conditions driven by the global pandemic," the company said.
Like the rest of the tanker sector, Covid-19 has devastated demand for oil, depressing tanker rates until transportation demand can come back.
Diamond S's revenues came in at $54.7m for the quarter against $135m for the same period last year.
Its fleet of 14 crude tankers brought in $15.7m of net revenue compared to $62.3m for the first quarter of 2020, while its 50 product tankers brought in $39m versus $72.7m.
Expenses remained steady at $41.9m for the first quarter of 2021 against $41.5m for the first quarter of 2020.
The big news for Diamond S was the late March announcement that it was merging with fellow New York-listed tanker owner International Seaways in a $2.2bn all-stock deal.
The merger will see Diamond S become a subsidiary of International Seaways, creating the second-largest US-listed tanker owner by fleet count and the third-largest by deadweight tonnage.
In its earnings release, Diamond S said the deal was still expected to close in the third quarter.
As it stands, International Seaways shareholders will own 55.7% of the new company, while Diamond S shareholders will have a 44.3% stake.
Due to the merger, the company said it will not hold a quarterly earnings call for the first quarter or any subsequent quarters moving forward.
