Nordic American Tankers slipped into the red in the first quarter but its bottom line was better than analysts had anticipated.
New York-listed Nordic, which last week warned of a breach of loan covenants, logged a loss of $3.43m in the opening three months of 2017.
The result compared with a gain of $29.30m at the same stage in 2016.
Adjusted for one-off items, earnings per share of $0.02 beat the $0.25 per share loss consensus among analysts.
NAT said the first quarter was a good period for the company in a volatile market, noting it remains financially strong.
Herbjorn Hansson-led Nordic has 30 suezmaxes on the water and three newbuildings on order.
It said in its quarterly report today it expects to secure financing for the new tankers, for which 70% of the purchase price is due on delivery.
NAT had previously announced a $0.20 per share dividend for the quarter, its 79th successive payout to shareholders.
