zoomImage Courtesy: Shipspotting/Lappino

Although the Norwegian shipowner Ocean Yield saw a rise in its revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2017, the company’s net profit was slightly down in the period.

Namely, Ocean Yield’s revenue and other income for the three-month period increased to USD 88.8 million from USD 76.2 million seen in the third quarter of 2016. At the same time, the company’s net profit after tax decreased to USD 31.3 million in the third quarter of 2017, compared to USD 32.7 million reported in the same period a year earlier.

Third quarter EBITDA surged to USD 80.6 million in the quarter, compared with USD 68.7 million seen in the previous year, related to delivery of further four vessels to the fleet.

“I am pleased to present another quarter of revenue growth for Ocean Yield, with the highest ever reported EBITDA and an adjusted net profit of USD 36.3 million,” Lars Solbakken, CEO of Ocean Yield, said.

The company’s Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend payment of USD 0.1885 per share for Q3 2017, representing an increase of 0.10 cents per share compared with the previous quarter.

“Once again we have increased dividends to our shareholders, now for the 16th consecutive quarter. With a strong balance sheet and liquidity position, we are actively pursuing opportunities in the market to further diversify our charter backlog and increase our dividend capacity,” Solbakken added.

For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017, Ocean Yield said that its revenues and other income were at USD 249.5 million as compared with USD 212.4 million reported in the same period in 2016.

The company’s net profit after tax was USD 98.8 million compared with USD 76.7 million for the first nine months of 2016, while EBITDA for the period increased to USD 226.1 million from USD 190.8 million reported in the first nine months 2016.

At the end of the third quarter of 2017, Ocean Yield had 37 vessels in the fleet. The company said it intends to continue to expand and diversify its fleet of vessels on long-term charter in order to continue to strengthen earnings and dividend capacity.

“Given Ocean Yield’s strong balance sheet, liquidity position and access to capital markets, the company is well positioned to continue to grow its portfolio of vessels. The transaction volumes for modern vessels in the sale & leaseback market has been lower during the past quarters, due to reduced newbuilding activity. The company expects increased newbuilding activity in 2018 with increased deal flow as a result.”