Challenging market conditions have pushed China’s Seaspan Corporation to a full-year loss of USD 139 million in 2016, plunging from a profit of USD 199 million reported in 2015.

During the year, the company focused on “taking important steps” in order to remain competitive in the current industry environment, which included cost control measures and strengthening the company’s balance sheet by raising USD 660 million of common and preferred equity.

In addition, Seaspan said that it has achieved reductions of 11.7% and 8.8% in ship operating expense per ownership day during Q4 and year ended December 31, 2016, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2015.

For the fourth quarter of 2016, Seaspan’s revenue dropped by 2.4% to USD 213.2 million year-on-year primarily due to lower average charter rates and an increase in unscheduled off-hire, relating to vessels being off-charter, including the three vessels previously chartered to Hanjin Shipping.

For the full year, however, Seaspan recorded a 7.2% increase in revenue that totaled USD 877.9 million, primarily due to the delivery of newbuilding vessels in 2015 and 2016 and the addition of two leased in vessels in 2016.

The company added five newbuildings in 2016, three 10000 TEU vessels on long-term charters with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Maersk Line, and two 14000 TEU vessels on long-term charters with Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.

“While we have seen the industry take measures to manage vessel supply and are confident industry conditions will improve over time, after careful consideration the Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to reduce the quarterly dividend on our common shares to USD 0.125 per share. We believe this decision is in the long-term interests of our shareholders and will allow us to capitalize on industry weakness while maintaining a strong balance sheet,” Gerry Wang, CEO, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of Seaspan, said.

“Seaspan is focused on enchancing its leadership position in the current industry environment. With over $5.2 billion in future contracted revenue, strong industry relationships, and a history of both accessing capital under favourable terms and entering into longterm contracts with leading liners, our focus remains on creating long-term shareholder value,” Wang continued.