EBITDA was minus SEK18 mill for 3Q18 and minus SEK19.8 mill for the nine month period.
The result after tax was minus SEK66.9 mill and minus SEK162.6 mill for the respective periods.
Total income was SEK685.2 mill for the nine month period.
The weak market also affected the third quarter of 2018, both for Concordia Maritime and for the rest of the industry. Continuing low freight rates led to negative overall earnings for the quarter.
The tanker market has been extremely weak in recent years. For a long time, Concordia has predicted that the turnaround would gradually materialise in the second half of 2018 – mainly towards the end of the year. And we can now see that it is actually happening, the company said. An improvement was noted after the end of the quarter – mainly for crude oil thus far, but the same trend for product tankers is expected as the end of the year approaches.
The turnaround was seen first in the VLCC segment, where rates have risen from $9,000 per day in September to about $50,000 per day as at the beginning of November. Correlation between vessels types is high, and when VLCC started to move, the other crude oil segments followed. For Suezmaxes, rates have more than doubled in a short period – from about $10,000 per day to $25,000 –30,000 per day.
Product tankers are lagging a little, but here too, Concordia said it could also see a trend break in some regions, including the Atlantic, where combination voyages have now appeared, albeit from low levels.
In certain specific regions, such as the Americas, spot contracts for MRs are priced at $15,000–18,000 per day – double from what they were just a few weeks ago.
Looking at the new sulfurr regulations that come into force in 2020, it is our assessment that there will be good availability of approved marine fuels. We are therefore not planning to invest in scrubbers at present, the company said.
It is important to remember that it will take some time before the improved market brings profitable levels for tanker companies specialising in product tankers, Concordia said.