Third quarter net income ran to $2.6m with earnings on a generally accepted accounting principals (GAAP) basis after various financial adjustments rising to $5.9m.
The result for the first nine months was a profit of $15.3m with GAAP earnings of $36.9m.
Third quarter income attributable to shareholders was $0.03 per share, or at a GAAP level $0.04 per share, while for the three quarters was $0.18 per share or in GAAP terms $0.43 per share.
Although the result amounted to a return to profit compared with the same period of last year analysts had been expecting a rather better result with earnings around $0.05 per share.
Teekay Tankers, which has a fixed dividend payout policy of $0.12 per share per annum, paid a $0.03 third quarter dividend at the end of October.
"Crude spot tanker rates for the third quarter of 2014 reached their highest average for a third quarter since 2008," noted Teekay Tankers chief executive, Kevin Mackay.
Mackay said that although there was a slight weakening of rates in September there had been an October rebound so there was likely to be a general spot market firming, with further benefit coming from lower bunker prices.
Mackay said Teekay had also benefited from an increase in fleet size as a result of an extra six chartered in vessels and from commercial and technical management fees from an operation purchased from Teekay Corp three months ago.
Teekay Tankers owns a fleet of 27 tankers, mostly in the aframax and suezmax size range, although there are also product carriers and a 50% stake in a VLCC. There are also ten chartered in vessels.
