Tankship Owners Frontline Take Cautious Approach
Tankship owners Frontline Ltd, domiciled in Bermuda, formerly Sweden, announce Q1 2012 results, remain cautious until market shows recovery
HIghlights of the report are as follows:
- Net income attributable to the Company of $7.2 million and earnings per share of $0.09 for the first quarter of 2012.
- Frontline sold the double hull Suezmax tanker, Front Alfa, and recognized a loss of $2.2 million.
- They terminated the charter party for the single hull VLCC, Titan Orion (ex-Front Duke), and recognized a gain of $9.4 million.
- They purchased $10.0 million notional value of the convertible bonds due 2015 for $5.4 million and recognized a gain of $4.6 million.
- Frontline will not pay a dividend for the first quarter of 2012.
Strategy and Outlook
The Board sees a challenging supply / demand situation for the tanker market where the combined VLCC and Suezmax fleet between 2004 and 2012 increased by 98 percent without being backed by a similar increase in demand. Frontline will continue to remain cautious and focus its resources on the present activities until a clearer sign of recovery can be seen in the tanker market.
