June 8, 2018 [Reuters] - Chemical tanker firm Odfjell sees significant upside potential to its earnings ahead as low-yielding contracts expire, new vessels are brought in and market rates for transporting chemicals recovers, it said on Tuesday.
In total, 18 of Odfjell’s ships come off time-charter (TC) contracts this year, out of a fleet of 83 vessels.
“We still have a positive margin on our TC vessels but some years ago we had a contribution of $40 million-$50 million … Today there isn’t much value in these TC contracts,” Chief Financial Officer Terje Iversen told investors on Tuesday.
“We are not in a rush to renew these contracts, we could live without these vessels,” he added.
In a high-case scenario, Odfjell estimated an annual positive impact on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $15 million if the vessels contracts are renewed.
A mid-level scenario would give a boost of $9 million.
Odfjell is due to take delivery of 11 newbuildings this year and next with significantly lower operating costs than its older vessels, the CEO added. On top this, Iversen expects a gradually recovery of the chemical tanker market.
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