New York-listed Scorpio recorded a deficit of $119.6m on previously announced newbuilding sales but it revealed funding will soon be in place for the final four unfinanced vessels in its slimmer orderbook.
Its overall loss for the quarter ran to $138.65m, which after the writedowns are stripped out left it with red ink of $16.6m.
Scorpio’s one-offs related to the sale of eight capesizes, an ultramax and two LR2s, which are part of a 20 vessel reduction undertaken to strengthen the balance sheet in a depressed market.
Following the disposals, Scorpio has just four unfinanced vessels among its 48 newbuilds.
Discussions with four European banks are underway with commitments are expected to be secured in the ongoing third quarter, today’s report said.
Amit Mehrotra of Deutsche Bank says the company’s adjusted loss was not as deep as the $21m consensus. But the analyst says the results are largely irrelevant given investor focus on the owner’s cash cushion.
Scorpio Bulkers has $450m in cash, which Mehrotra says should be more than enough to bridge the gap to a market recovery.
“As such it appears SALT shares are exiting the darkest days, and fast approaching the light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel,” the analyst said in a note to clients after the results were announced.
“We’d expect a positive reaction as the market digests the weak headline results and focuses on liquidity and funding.”
