Ardmore Shipping has reported a net loss of US$8.6 million for second quarter of 2018, 4.5 times its net loss of $1.9 million for the same period last year.
The company reported EBITDA of US$7.6 million for 2018's second quarter, as compared to its US$12.9 million reported for 2017's second quarter.
Across the first half of 2018, Ardmore Shipping reported a net loss of US$13.7 million, three times its net loss of US$4.0 million for the first half of 2017.
During the quarter, Ardmore Shipping completed refinancing of the Ardmore Endurance and Ardmore Enterprise, two 49,000DWT product tankers, under a sale and leaseback arrangement providing net proceeds, after prepayment of existing debt, of US$10.3 million.
Spot and pool MR tankers earned an average of US$11,510 per day for the second quarter and US$12,086 per day for the first half of 2018.
Chemical tankers earned an average of US$12,527 per day for the second quarter, and US$12,816 per day for the first half of 2018.
Ardmore Shipping attributed "a number of unrelated short-term factors [that] came together to put downward pressure on cargo volumes and charter rates, particularly in the Atlantic Basin" as the primary cause of the loss.
"Cargo flows from the US Gulf to Brazil and Mexico declined in the latter half of the second quarter as a result of domestic issues and consequent increases in local refinery throughput," Ardmore Shipping CEO Anthony Gurnee said.
"Simultaneously, a significant build-up of West African product inventories during the first quarter further reduced cargo volumes and freight rates from Europe and the US during the second quarter."
Ardmore believes a strong underlying oil demand growth for 2018 and 2019 and changing regulations for bunker fuels which take effect from January 1, 2020 will result in a significant increase in seaborne volumes of refined products from mid-2019 will assist the company return to course mid-2019.
