DS Torm, the listed Danish product tanker and dry cargo shipping company, has raised its 2015 pre-tax and operating profit forecasts on a continuing strong product tanker market.
The company, which completed a restructuring on 13 July, has slashed interim losses.
The net loss in the second quarter of this year was USD0.2 million, down from USD22.8 million in the same period last year. Revenues fell to USD139.6 million from USD143.6 million.
For the first half of this year the company reported a net profit of USD8.4 million compared with a loss of USD245.9 million in the first half of 2014, when heavy impairment charges affected the result. Revenues in the respective periods were USD293.8 million and USD331.5 million.
A company statement said, “For the full year 2015, Torm has upward adjusted the expectations for the combined group to a positive EBITDA in the range of USD190 million to USD230 million.” The previous forecast was had been USD170-210 million.
Torm now expects pre-tax profit in the range USD115-155 million, up from USD100-140 million.
On the conclusion of its restructuring Oaktree Capital Management and Njord Micro became its largest shareholders through a reverse acquisition. “The combined group had an estimated pro-forma equity of USD890 million as per the restructuring completion date on 13 July 2015,” Torm said.
During the second quarter, the product tanker market continued to benefit from high refinery margins that supported demand for the transport of refined products. Torm’s largest segment, MRs, achieved spot rates of USD22,746/day, which is 73% more than a year earlier. The tanker segment, which operates about 90 ships in the range of 35,000-110,000dwt, reported a gross profit for the quarter of USD56 million, more than twice the USD26 million figure for the same period in 2014.
The dry bulk market remained at historically low levels during the second quarter, with average Panamax spot earnings at USD5,189/day, or 18% below the level in the same period last year. The business reported a gross loss of USD1 million in the quarter, unchanged from last year. It only employs four ships, as Torm is exiting dry cargo as part of its restructure.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
