Revenue for 3Q15 was $47.2 mill, an increase of $28.3 mill from $18.9 mill reported for 3Q14. This rise was due to an increase in the average number of owned vessels to 21.3 in 3Q15, from 13.2 in 3Q14, improving market conditions and an increase in earnings per day generated by vessels employed in the spot market.
Ardmore also said that it had delivered a strong chartering performance with the spot and pool MRs earning about $24,269 per day during 3Q15.
Anthony Gurnee, the company's CEO, commented: “We are very pleased to achieve strong financial performance for the third quarter, reporting earnings of $13.6 mill or $0.52 per share. Our results this quarter are attributable to well-timed fleet growth, a highly efficient operating platform, and successful execution of our chartering strategy.
“We are also pleased to declare a dividend of $0.31 per share for the quarter, representing a 210% increase. We believe that our newly adopted constant payout ratio of 60% provides clarity on future dividends and ensures that investors are able to fully participate in and benefit from Ardmore's earnings growth.
“The product tanker charter market has exhibited sustained strength throughout the year to-date, driven by underlying secular demand growth resulting from Middle East refinery expansion, a growing dislocation of production versus consumption, and continuing regional product imbalances. In addition, the new oil market, characterised by extreme oil price volatility and supply-chain congestion, has added a further layer of demand for product tankers and is expected to persist for the foreseeable future.
“Meanwhile, we believe that product tanker supply growth has peaked, with deliveries to date being fully absorbed and with the MR orderbook now the lowest of all the tanker sectors. Given these market dynamics and the typical seasonal demand uplift, we are very bullish for the coming winter months and are already seeing signs of further strengthening in the spot market.
“With our final two newbuilds scheduled to deliver in the coming weeks and our 2016 revenue days set to increase by a further 23% from their 2015 level, Ardmore is well positioned to continue generating strong returns and creating substantial value for shareholders,” he concluded.
Ardmore drew down $41.8 mill of debt in the third quarter, in line with vessel deliveries and currently has about $41.8 mill of committed debt in place for the remaining two vessels on order, which will be drawn down in line with their deliveries.
The company also reported a net profit of $26.6 mill for the first nine months of this year, compared to a net loss of $0.2 mill for the first nine months of 2014. EBITDA was $53.4 mill, an increase of $38.7 mill from $14.7 mill recorded for the first nine months of last year.
Adjusted net profit amounted to $27.7 mill, compared to $0.8 mill for the nine month period of 2014.
In addition, Ardmore’s COO, Mark Cameron, has been appointed chairman of the International Parcel Tanker Association (IPTA), replacing outgoing chairman, Essberger Tankers’ Hugo Finlay.
His role will focus on continued policy development and implementation of agreed IPTA positions on key issues, such as the development of global regulations on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) and UNFCCC climate change legislation, ECA regulatory compliance, and, importantly, cargo categorisation and carriage regulations pertinent to the IMO classified chemical and product tanker fleets.
The new chairman will also maintain IPTA’s continued focus on the issues of safety and security for chemical and parcel tanker operators. Cameron will continue in his role as COO of Ardmore Shipping.