Danaos back in black for 2013Danaos back in black for 2013

The Greek container ship owner lost $4.2m in the last quarter, improving on Q4 2012's $116.6m loss.

The fourth quarter's loss included a $19m write down related to a restructuring of Zim's obligations to Danaos, as the Israeli owner-operator continues to fight its financial problems. The deal, still subject to approval from creditors, will see a significant reduction in Zim's charter rates payable to Danaos, with the Greeks receiving interest bearing, unsecured nine year notes.

Operating revenues for the fourth quarter dipped slightly by 3.2% year on year to $147m due to fleet changes and a weaker market. For the full year, operating revenue dropped 0.2% to $588.1m.

Utilisation in 2013 was 93.4%, with two of the company's fleet of 61 ships in cold lay-up.

Danaos ceo John Coustas, commented, "[Our] improvement is mainly a result of reduced financing costs due to the rapid deleveraging of the Company's balance sheet. During 2013 we utilised 90% of our free cash flow generation to reduce indebtedness by $171 million, while we will reduce debt further by at least a further $200 million in 2014.

"The containership market remains challenging but there are indications of recovery. Mainlane trade volumes in 2013 expanded by 2.8% on average compared to 1% in 2012, while the Asia - Europe trade grew by almost 3.5%, an improvement when considering the 4.9% contraction of 2012.

"On the supply side, the containership fleet grew by almost 7% in 2013 outpacing demand growth that came in at around 4.8%. This imbalance is anticipated to subside during 2014 with demand growth forecasts at around 6% and supply growth estimated at around 5%."