Maritime Stocks Take A Dive On Oslo Bourse

The All Share Index in Oslo lost a further 4.2 percent in April, and as in March the main reason for the fall was international repricing of technology stocks. However, shipping and offshore companies were not providing any help for the market, as the Shipping Index fell a solid 5.8 percent during the month.

Det Søndenfjeldske (SFJ), Ocean Rig (OCR) and Stolt Comex Seaway (SCS and SCSA) all fell between 14 and 19 percent, leading the way down for offshore stocks. The share price of Det Søndenfjeldske has dropped almost 25 percent during the last two months.

Also Smedvig A (SME), Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) and TGS Nopec (TGS) saw their market values fall in April. The three stocks fell 1.1, 5.4 and 5.7 percent respectively.

However, almost half of the offshore stocks listed at the OSE experienced positive share price movements in the period. Polar Holding (POL) was up all of 30 percent, mainly due to a take-over attempt by OSE-listed District Offshore (DOF). Also Havila Supply (HAV) and Brøvig Offshore (BRO) experienced considerable gains.

The two cruise operators both had about 20 percent of their market caps cut off, making April the third consecutive month in negative territory. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has been particularly hammered by the market during these last months, having dropped more than 53 percent since the end of January. RCCL finished the month just under NOK 200 per share, a level unseen since November 1998.

Some of the tanker carriers dominated the winner's list among shipping companies in April, headed by First Olsen Tankers (FOT) and Nordic American Tanker Shipping (NAT) which rose 42.9 and 13.4 percent respectively.

Much due to a profit warning that was made public midway through the month, Nomadic Shipping (NOS) fell just high of 30 percent, topping the loser's list. Also Eidsiva Rederi (EID), Stolt-Nielsen B (SNIB) and Jinhui Shipping and Transportation (JIN) dropped more than 10 percent.