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Norden losses $285m in 'another horror year for dry cargo'

Norden losses $285m in 'another horror year for dry cargo'
Norden slumped to an expected net loss of $285m for 2015 in what chief Jan Rindbo described as “yet another horror year in dry cargo”.

The loss of $282m at an EBIT level was in line with a earnings warning issued on 21 January when the company $340m in writedowns and provisions on the value of its dry cargo fleet and future losses on its chartered in fleet.

Investors looking crumbs of comfort could note that the $284.9m net loss for 2015 was not actually as bad as its 2014 result when it lost $415.6m.

In 2015 revenues slumped to $1.65bn compared to $2.04bn a year earlier.

The assessment of Norden ceo Rindbo was blunt: ”2015 was yet another horror year in dry cargo, and Norden put a large number of tools to use to mitigate the effect of a historically miserable dry cargo market.

“We have actively adjusted our dry cargo exposure to the increasingly challenging market conditions and at the same time taken advantage of a strong tanker market to generate record results with the tanker fleet.”

Earlier this year Norden joined a number of major owners in quitting the capesize bulker market where rates are at all time lows.

The company has reduced its exposure to the dry cargo market in 2016 and 2017 by 24%. “The dry cargo sector is undergoing structural changes with no growth in demand for sea- borne transportation as a consequence of China’s transformation from an industry-driven to a service-driven economy,” Norden said.