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Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) closed +9.7% Tuesday to a new 52-week high after reporting adjusted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates, while also announcing its first cash dividend under its new policy payment of a third of the adjusted earnings.
At the end of the fourth quarter, Ardmore (ASC) said it had 21 MR tankers in operation, all trading in the spot market; those tankers earned an average TCE rate of $41,911/day in the fourth quarter.
Also at the end of the fourth quarter, the company said it had six Eco-Design IMO 2 product/chemical tankers in operation, all trading on the spot market; those vessels earned an average TCE rate of $28,544/day in the fourth quarter.
For the first quarter of 2023, Ardmore (ASC) expects to have all revenue days for its MR tankers and Eco-Design IMO 2 tankers employed in the spot market.
The refined product tanker market has seen brisk diesel buying ahead of winter, “with the situation currently evolving,” CCO Gernolt Ruppelt said at Ardmore’s ( ASC ) post-earnings conference call, as reported by S&P Global Platts.
“The world cannot live on diesel alone,” Ruppelt said in response to diesel production at the expense of oil and gasoline, which “could trigger the next long-haul arbitrage, with a positive effect on tanker demand.”
Shares of Ardmore Shipping (ASC) have gained 30% so far this year and 386% over the past year.