Tony Gurnee expressed his confidence in a products tanker market recovery after weaker rates tipped Ardmore Shipping into the red for the second quarter.
The loss has automatically led to New York-listed Ardmore paying no dividend for the quarter but the company is sticking by its policy of paying out 60% of earnings to stakeholders.
Ardmore posted a loss of $1.9m in the three months to the end of June, against a profit of $5.5m at the same stage of 2016.
Its loss per share of $0.06 was a penny less than analysts tracking the company had anticipated.
Noah Parquette of JP Morgan says a stronger than charted showing from the company’s MR fleet fuelled higher than anticipated revenue while costs were lower than anticipated.
Gurnee, Ardmore’s chief executive, said in a statement he was satisfied with the company’s performance and “encouraged that the highly compelling MR industry fundamentals remain firmly intact”.
“MR charter rates improved from the prior quarter, driven by increased activity in the Atlantic basin and product flows to Latin America,” he said.
“Meanwhile, despite refined product inventories declining in April and May, levels remain above historical averages and continue to curtail trading activity and ton mile demand in the short term.
“Nonetheless, the underlying fundamentals for MR product tankers are very positive: oil demand growth remains robust and export-oriented refinery capacity is increasing.”
Gurnee says fleet growth of between 1% and 2% is expected to be well below increases in demand, which should lead to a sustained rise in rates.
Ardmore, which has a fleet of 27 ships on the water, reported a loss of $4m for the first half of 2017. At the same point in 2016 it booked a profit of $12.2m.
Figures from Banchero Costa show that overall products tanker fleet growth of 5.4% this year is likely to slow to 2.4% in 2018 and further to just 0.5% in 2019.
John Chappell of Evercore said: "Admittedly, the onset of this recovery has slipped beyond our original forecast horizon, owing mainly to the stubborn glut of refined products, but this delay only serves to improve the near-term outlook as it has kept newbuild orders at bay."
Ardmore also confirmed a sale and leaseback deal for the 47,000-dwt Ardmore Sealeader and Ardmore Sealifter bringing net proceeds of $12.3m.
