zoomImage Courtesy: Nasdaq

Greek owner and operator of drybulk carriers and offshore support vessels DryShips Inc. has reported a net loss of USD 9.1 million in the second quarter of 2016, against a net loss of USD 1.4 billion seen in the same quarter of 2015.

DryShips said that its net loss for the first half of the year narrowed to USD 115.9 million from the USD 1.4 billion seen a year earlier.

The company’s revenues for the quarter were at USD 13.1 million, compared to USD 403.1 million reported a year ago.

For the six-month period ended June 30, DryShips’ revenue plunged to USD 25 million from USD 895.2 million seen in the first half of 2015.

Due to the prolonged market downturn in the drybulk segment, DryShips started discussions with its lenders for the restructuring of its debt facilities.

Six of these bank facilities have matured and the company has not made the final balloon installment. For the remaining bank facilities, the company has elected to suspend principal and interest payments to preserve cash liquidity.

As of June 30, 2016, DryShips’ total debt stands at USD 224.7 million.

At the end of July, DryShips was notified by the Nasdaq Stock Market that the company was not in compliance with a Nasdaq Listing Rule as the closing bid of its common stock was below the required minimum of USD 1 per share for 30 consecutive business days, from June 14, 2016 to July 26, 2016.

DryShips has been given a grace period of 180 days, or until January 23, 2017, to regain compliance.

This prompted the company to effect a 4-for-1 reverse stock split in order to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market minimum bid price requirement.

If it fails to regain compliance within the initial grace period, DryShips may be eligible for an additional 180-day grace period.

DryShips owns a fleet of 20 Panamax drybulk carriers with a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 1.5 million tons, and 6 offshore supply vessels, comprising 2 platform supply and 4 oil spill recovery vessels.