Toro Corp has booked more healthy profits in the sale and purchase market by selling two more tankers from its fleet.
The Cyprus-based owner confirmed in a statement that it had sold its 106,100-dwt Wonder Vega (built 2005) to an undisclosed buyer for $31.5m.
The company acquired the Hyundai Heavy Industries-built ship from Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping in April 2021 for a reported $14.8m.
Toro Corp has also reported the sale of its 36,700-dwt Wonder Vega (built 2006) at a price of $18m. The ship, which was also bought in April 2021, was acquired for just $8.5m.
The Nasdaq-listed shipowner said both vessels are expected to be delivered to their new owners during the fourth quarter of 2023.
Toro Corp said it expects to record during the fourth quarter of 2023 a net gain on the sale of the Wonder Formosa of about $9m and a net gain on the sale of the Wonder Vega of around $17.7m, excluding any transaction-related costs.
The latest disposals leave Toro Corp with six vessels, including one LR2, one MR tanker, and four 4,900-cbm LPG carriers.
The Petros Panagiotidis-led shipowner has raised close to $150m from tanker sales this year offloading four LR2s and one MR tanker since late April 2023, according to VesselsValue.
In August Toro Corp reported a second-quarter net profit of $55.4m versus the $5.4m seen in the corresponding period 12 months earlier.
Some 744 tankers have changed hands in the first eight months of 2023 in deals worth just over $20bn, VesselsValue reported in its monthly market report.
This compares with 895 tanker sales in 2022 worth $17.3bn and 711 tanker sale and purchase transactions in 2021 worth just $11.5bn.
