Gener8 Maritime slipped into the red in the third quarter but its numbers measured up with Wall Street forecasts.
New York-listed Gener8, which will finish taking delivery of its newbuilding catalogue early next year, booked a bottom line loss of $33.2m in the three months to the end of September.
The figure included a goodwill impairment of $26.3 and losses on the sales of the 313,000 Genmar Vision and Genmar Victory (both built 2001).
Adjusted for the one-off items, Gener8 recorded a loss of $700,000 for the quarter, down from $37.3m in the same stretch of 2015.
Its loss per share of a single cent was exactly what Wall Street was expecting, according to the Bloomberg consensus.
Eco advantage
Peter Georgiopoulos, chief executive of the shipowner, says the owner took delivery of four new VLCCs in the third quarter, with two more following in the final three months of the year.
“One of the key advantages of our 'eco' design vessels is increased fuel efficiency, which was a positive driver of the TCE rates we achieved in the third quarter in a relatively weak rate environment,” he said in a statement to investors.
He says the IMO’s move to reduce sulphur content in marine fuel by approximately 85% is a land mark for the industry and could result in a doubling of bunker prices.
“Under the IMO mandate, the expected cost savings attributable to our fuel-efficient vessels is expected to increase, furthering our competitive position in the market and increasing the premium charter rate for 'eco’ VLCCs." Georgiopoulos argued.
Leo Vrondissis, chief financial officer of Gener8 noted the sale of the two VLCCs led to the pre-payment of $38.8m in debt, helping to lower interest expenses.
"With $100m of cash and a fully financed newbuilding programme, we believe Gener8 has ample liquidity to weather market weakness and execute its newbuilding programme," said Magnus Fyhr of Seaport Global.
