Weaker second quarter for Ship Finance International

Profit fell to $25m from $61m in Q2 2012, EBITDA fell from $151m to $122m and charter revenues tumbled to $154m from $185m in 2012.

The quarter saw the owner place a $240m order for four 8,700 teu box ships at Daewoo Shipyard in May and acquire $129m in an equity offering in June. Just outside of the quarter SFL secured $475m in bank financing for the acquisition of a harsh environment jack-up rig in July.

Ole Hjertaker, Ship Finance International ceo commented, "With new investments totalling nearly $1bn in the quarter, our focus is to continue building the company's long-term distribution capacity. The equity raised in June was immediately invested in the new accretive drilling rig project and we are well positioned for further growth within our core segments."

The compamy's charter backlog stood at $5.8bn at the end of June, up from $5.5bn at the same point last year, while average charter term fell to 6.6 years from 6.9 years.

SFL's strategy is one of continued expansion, "over the last three quarters, we have raised more than $2bn in equity capital, senior unsecured bonds, convertible notes and bank financing. We believe access to capital will be a key differentiating factor in the shipping and offshore markets going forward, and we remain committed to maintaining our strong profile in the capital markets," the company said.

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