Third-quarter profit reported by Overseas Shipholding Group has proven the old saying that, sometimes, “less is more” in shipping.
The Florida-based tanker owner fixed fewer ships during the quarter and took in less revenue than a year ago but with lower expenses, it still posted higher earnings compared to the same quarter of last year.
The US Jones Act operator recorded $17.6m in net income for the third quarter, up from $13.2m in net profit for the same period last year.
Revenue for the third quarter totalled $115m, down 6.2% from the same quarter in 2022. Of that amount, time charter equivalent revenue was $109m, down 5.6% from last year’s third quarter.
OSG posted lower third-quarter revenue because it had a smaller fleet after redelivering three conventional tankers that it had chartered in from Oslo-listed AMSC since December 2022.
The New York-listed company also had eight more dry-dock days and lower lightering volumes in Delaware Bay during the quarter, compared to the same period last year.
The lightering decrease was partially offset by higher average daily rates and a part of a voyage for Israel’s government during the second half of 2023, compared to two such voyages in the third quarter of 2022.
Third-quarter profit also received a boost from voyage, vessel and charter hire expenses, falling 17.2% from a year ago to $63.1m during this year’s third quarter, primarily due to fewer charters using less fuel.
“We made progress on all of our key objectives since our report for the second quarter,” chief executive Sam Norton said in a statement.
“Cash flow from operations continues to meet or exceed our expectations, giving us continuing confidence that our business plan is working.”
For the first nine months of 2023, OSG posted $42m in profit, up from $16.5m during the same period in 2022.
Revenue from January to the end of September came in at $265m, up from $233m during the first nine months of 2022.
