Ardmore Shipping (ASC) Tops Q1 EPS by 5c

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE: ASC) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.06), $0.05 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.11). Revenue for the quarter came in at $49.67 million, versus $43.54 million reported last year.

Anthony Gurnee, the Company\'s Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are satisfied with our performance in the first quarter, as our fleet continued to perform well under soft charter market conditions. Following delivery of the last of the recently acquired Eco-Design MRs in November 2016, this was the first quarter with all six vessels in operation; these vessels made a very positive contribution to our financial performance in the quarter, as their high specifications and low breakeven costs resulted in significant accretion to operating income in a challenging market.

MR charter rates increased modestly from the prior quarter, driven by increased activity in the Atlantic basin, while high refined product inventory levels have continued to put downward pressure on tonne mile demand. Looking beyond the near-term spot market, we remain confident that the underlying fundamentals and outlook for the MR tanker sector are very positive. Demand growth is set to continue in the 4-5% range, driven by increased consumption and export-oriented refinery activity, while supply growth for MRs is slowing; the orderbook is at historical lows, scrapping continues to take place, and the pace of deliveries will decline further over the course of 2017. Taken together, these trends should result in net fleet growth well below projected demand growth. With our strong balance sheet, modern fleet, and low cost structure, and with revenue days set to increase by 13% in 2017, we believe Ardmore is well positioned to take advantage of the anticipated charter market recovery and to generate strong returns and value accretion for our shareholders."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Ardmore Shipping (ASC) click here.

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