Norden Q3 profit down, outlook up

At first glance it may seem that the tanker and dry bulk outfit fared better the first three quarters, with losses of $32.9m compared to $271.5m losses at the same point in 2012, but last year saw Norden write down almost $300m in asset values. EBITDA for the first nine months of 2013 was $31.9m, down from $103.6m last year, a 69% drop.

For the company's dry cargo segment, EBITDA for the last quarter was $10m, down from $26m last year, despite the Baltic Dry Index being 53% higher last quarter and newbuild deliveries falling 46% to 11m dwt, a fleet growth of 1% .

The tanker segment reported EBITDA of $11m, up from negative $1m last year, benefiting from a 26% hike in time charter earnings. Norden's confidence in the market is reflected in their spot exposure for 2014, which currently stands at 81%

Norden president and ceo Carsten Mortensen commented, "The market really showed signs of life in the third quarter. In a short period of time, rates for the large dry cargo vessels increased substantially, which also benefited the small vessel types. The increase was stronger than expected and shows that the prerequisites for a more sustainable improvement are present."

"Within tankers, there were also positive signs where record-high US exports helped lifting the market. So even though it is still a challenging year, this quarter emphasises that we are getting closer to a gradual improvement of the markets."

The company has narrowed its full year EBITDA forecast from $15m-$45m to $25m-$45m, with the majority expected to be contributed by the tanker sector.

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