Although tanker rates have soared, Irish product tanker operator Ardmore Shipping saw a deficit in the first quarter due to a ship sale loss.
Despite increasing rates on the tanker market this year and even record-high rate levels in recent weeks for MR product tanker vessels, Ardmore comes out of Q1 with red figures.
The Irish product tanker operator saw a net loss of USD 7.9m in the first quarter, according to a financial statement.
The deficit is primarily due to a loss of USD 6.9m in relation to a ship sale. In the same quarter last year, Ardmore booked a net deficit of USD 8.4m.
Revenue from Ardmore’s 21 MR tankers and six combined product and chemical tanker vessels grew by roughly USD 18m to USD 63.4m compared the same quarter in 2021.
The average TCE rates for Ardmore’s ships in Q1 was at USD 15,155 per day, an increase of USD 3,806 per day in comparison to the rate levels in Q1 2021.
”Over the past two months, the product and chemical tanker markets have been transformed by extreme dislocation in these trades. MR product tankers have been the most significant beneficiary, owing to their versatility and trading flexibility, with rates reaching record highs in recent weeks,” says Ardmore CEO Anthony Gurnee in the announcement.
”In our own fleet, rates have varied widely but we have fixed as high as USD 95,600 per day, and the average of our last two weeks of MR voyages fixed now stands at USD 34,400 per day.”
Last year, Ardmore Shipping came out with a total net loss of USD 38.1m – a worsening of 2020’s loss of USD 6m.
