Some highlights
- For the first quarter, NORDEN’s operating earnings (EBITDA) were USD 48 million compared to USD 39 million for the fourth quarter of 2010 and USD 79 million for the same period last year, which was affected by large non-recurring income.
- In the Dry Cargo Department, EBITDA was USD 44 million, whereas the Tanker Department generated an EBITDA of USD 7 million.
- For the first quarter, the profit from operations (EBIT) was USD 30 million (USD 69 million). Net profit increased after fair value adjustments of hedging instruments to USD 69 million (USD 63 million).
- Theoretical Net Asset Value was DKK 275 per share against DKK 308 per share at the beginning of the year.
- The Dry Cargo Department continues to have a high degree of coverage for 2011 and had, at the end of the quarter, only 4,000 open ship days for the rest of the year. The Tanker Department has 6,500 open ship days for the rest of 2011.
- NORDEN maintains its expectations of an EBITDA of USD 135-175 million and an EBIT of USD 55-95 million.
President and CEO Carsten Mortensen says in a comment:
"The dry cargo market in the first quarter was exactly as difficult as one could have feared revealing a 55% drop in spot rates. High coverage secured NORDEN reasonable operating earnings in Dry Cargo, and we improved the results in Tankers, where the market proved better than expected. All in all, we have had a reasonable start to the year, but this does not change the fact that 2011 is still expected to become a challenging year, and we have positioned the Company accordingly with high coverage in Dry Cargo."
