I.M. Skaugen Completes Newbuild Program
I.M. Skaugen ASA, Oslo (IMSK) will take delivery of its sixth vessel in the newbuilding program, MV "Norgas Napa", on October 31, 2003. The vessel is built by the Hudong - Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group in Shanghai, China. The successful completion of the newbuilding program combined with the new alliance with A.P. The Norgas fleet currently consists of 19 gas carriers (18 with ethylene carrying capacity) has about 150,000 cbm capacity. The age of the Norgas fleet have with these new vessels been reduced to an average of 16 years. The total delivered cost (incl. of all pre delivery cost such as supervision and financing cost during construction) is about $21.5 million per vessel.
Skaugen Reports Loss
The I.M. Skaugen group reported a pre-tax result of minus MUSD 1.5 in 2Q04 (MUSD 0.8 in 1Q04, minus MUSD 3.0 in 4Q03 and MUSD 2 in 2Q03). The result on EBITDA basis is MUSD 3.8 for this period (MUSD 4.4 in 1Q04, MUSD 5.4 in 4Q03 and MUSD 7.5 in 2Q04). The Gas Activities, and mainly Norgas experienced a much weaker EBITDA result in 2Q04 than anticipated. A worldwide shortage of product supply resulted in more idle time for the MNGC fleet and thus a reduced EBITDA contribution. The general picture is still considered optimistic for the world economy in late 2004 and beyond and hence also for Norgas. SPT - The Shuttle Tanker Activities reported a satisfactory overall performance and achieved acceptable results after a challenging period in the beginning of the year.
