Star Bulk On Track with Fleet Expansion Plans
Greece-based bulk carrier Star Bulk has taken delivery of 20 vessels out of the 34 vessels the company agreed to acquire from Excel Maritime.
According to Star Bulk’s Chief Executive Officer, Petros Pappas, the remaining 14 vessels are expected to be delivered by the end of the year.
Star Bulk reported USD 0.2 million net income for the three months ended September 30, 2014, the company’s third quarter results show.
The carrier’s total revenues for the three months ended September 30 were USD 36,812 compared with USD 17,727 in the same period last year.
Total revenues for the nine months ended September 30 amount to USD 81,737, also an increase when compared with the same period from last year which amounted to USD 53,545.
The company’s average operating expenses per vessel were USD 5,192/day, reduced by 8.5% year‐over‐year, as the carrier pursues cost control activities.
Pappas commented that the said results have been achieved despite the soft freight market environment during this period.
“We will continue to work towards realizing economies of scale and low break‐even levels in the future, especially as we will be taking delivery of our 35 fuel efficient newbuilding vessels currently on order,” Pappas added.
Star Bulk has been busy during the third quarter with securing financing for its newbuilding fleet obtaining debt commitments totaling USD 64.5 million and USD 157 million in bank financing.
Pappas said that Star Bulk was in negotiations for USD 292.5 million of additional debt to finance five Newcastlemax and four Capesize newbuildings.
“Overall, I believe that this quarter has been instrumental for Star Bulk, as we successfully completed the merger with Oceanbulk, announced the acquisition of the Excel vessels, and most importantly continued building up a ship management platform capable of effectively managing more than 100 vessels,” he concluded.
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