UK shipowner Tufton Oceanic Assets is expecting further rises in the value of its tankers and bulkers.
The London-listed fund announced operating profit of $0.049 per share, or $15m, for the first quarter, up from $9.6m in the same period of 2022.
The company called this a “strong” performance and said rising bulker capital values outweighed a fall for product tankers.
This drop was mostly in January, ahead of the G7 price cap on Russian oil products.
“Demand for long-term product tanker charters remained strong during the quarter. Values rose in March and have continued rising in April. We expect values to increase further,” the company said.
The bulker market started improving primarily due to China reopening, it added.
“We expect further improvement due to normalised global demand growth combined with very low fleet growth. We have therefore focused on shorter-term charters in expectation of longer charters at higher rates later this year.”
Chemical tankers benefited from rising values and strong operating profit.
The company’s net asset value total return for the quarter was 1.1%.
It is paying out a dividend of $0.021 per share as it targets a total annual figure of $0.085.
Fleet supply to fall
The owner expects new environmental regulations to result in an effective fleet supply reduction of between 2% and 4% over the next 12 to 24 months.
The fund is continuing to seek investment opportunities in tanker and bulkers, as well as other segments.
In March, Tufton spun off seven chemical tankers into a joint venture with Womar that listed in Oslo through a $67m over-the-counter IPO.
Stainless Tankers is now eyeing a listing on one of the main Oslo stock exchange boards.
