Kbc Securities News

Belgian oil tanker and storage operator Euronav on Thursday reported sharply higher quarterly earnings, but despite a freight market recovery, rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) remained low, sending its shares down more than 4%."Management has good reason to be more optimistic on the winter season," ING's analyst Quirijn Mulder said after the group, which provides crude oil shipping and storage services, said freight rates had improved substantially since March.Chief Executive Officer Hugo De Stoop said in a statement that recent trading data…

Belgian oil tanker group Euronav and smaller Oslo-listed rival Frontline plan to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at $4.2 billion that they said would cut costs and help in their low-carbon transition.Euronav shareholders will own 59% of the combined group and will also receive a cash dividend before the deal closes, while Frontline owners will hold the remaining 41%, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.The merged company will use the Frontline name and will…

Euronav on Thursday pointed to a recovery in freight rates, after the oil shipping and storage operator swung to a loss in a "challenging" third quarter.The tanker industry has been under pressure this year as global crude oil exports have been constrained by OPEC+ output cuts and as COVID-19 outbreaks have continued to depress demand, delaying any recovery in freight rates.But the Antwerp-based group, which provides crude oil shipping and storage services, flagged positive developments contributing to a strong recovery in activity since early September.Euronav's shares pared early losses to s

Leading tanker operator Euronav posted record high first-quarter results on Thursday and expects strong demand for oil storage at sea to continue in 2020, driving its shares up 8.5%.The world is still struggling with an oil glut due to a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus even after top oil producing countries have cut output. The glut has prompted a scramble to find storage options on land and sea.Hugo De Stoop, chief executive of Belgian group Euronav, said floating storage…

Tanker operator Euronav is to buy U.S. rival Gener8 Maritime to create one of the world's top oil shipping fleets, the companies said on Thursday, in an all-stock deal worth an estimated $490 million. Tanker companies have faced tough conditions in recent months, partly due to a glut of ships available for hire, and as a result have been looking for ways to build scale and cut costs. The Euronav deal is the first major M&A transaction since Oslo-listed tanker player Frontline said in June it had abandoned its pursuit of New York-listed rival DHT Holdings . Euronav, headquartered in Belgium, said the deal would create a tanker group with "tangible economies of scale" and an estimated market capitalisation of about $1.8 billion.

SBM Offshore, a Dutch provider of floating oil and gas production vessels, raised its core earnings guidance on Wednesday citing clients slowly spending more on deepsea projects. "Deepwater is becoming attractive again. It's on a par from an economic standpoint with shale oil," said Chief Executive Bruno Chabas, in reference to a recovery in spending which fell after a sharp drop in oil prices in 2014. Due to low production costs, the shale oil market has attracted huge investments, especially in the United States, and outperformed investor interest elsewhere in the oil market.

Shares in Dutch offshore oil industry services company SBM Offshore rose on Friday on a media report the company was close to settling a corruption probe with Brazilian authorities that has prevented it from bidding for work in a major market. The shares rose as much as 5.5 percent to a 17-day high of 15.29 euros after oil and gas magazine Upstream published an article indicating a deal was near, analysts said. SBM, which has been seeking a deal after being accused of paying bribes to executives of state-controlled oil company Petrobras, declined to comment. If it reaches a deal, SBM would be well placed to win a tender for the first floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) platform for the giant Libra oil field offshore Brazil, KBC Securities analyst Tom Simonts said.

Hunter Maritime Acquisition Corp. announced the commencement of its initial public offering of 15,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit. Each unit consists of one Class A common share of the company and one-half of one warrant, each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A common share of the company. The company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional units. The units are expected to be listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market (“NASDAQ”) and trade under the ticker symbol “HUNTU”. Once the securities composing the units begin separate trading, the Class A common shares and warrants are expected to be listed and trade on NASDAQ under the symbols “HUNT” and “HUNTW,” respectively.

Euronav NV announced today the upsizing and pricing of its initial public offering in the United States. The size of the offering has been increased from the initially announced 13,550,000 ordinary shares to 16,260,000 ordinary shares at an issue price per share of USD 12.25 for gross base proceeds of USD 199,185,000. The Company has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,439,000 ordinary shares. The Company’s ordinary shares offered in the United States are expected to commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) today under the ticker symbol “EURN.”  This offering is expected to close on January 28, 2015, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Euronav NV announced the commencement of its underwritten initial public offering in the United States of 13,550,000 ordinary shares. The company will grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional ordinary shares representing up to 15% of the offered shares. On January 19, 2015 the closing price of the company’s ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels was $12.94 per share (based upon the Bloomberg Composite Rate of EUR 0.8604 per $1.00 USD in effect on that date). The company has been approved to list its ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EURN.

European stocks inched higher on Monday as acquisition hopes fuelled gains for oil services firms after Dutch group Boskalis took a stake in Fugro. Fugro jumped 44 percent after sector peer Boskalis bought about 15 percent of its shares, which have lost more than half of their value since June. Boskalis denied any intention of making a full bid but its surprise purchase boosted takeover hopes in the sector and sent shares in SBM Offshore and Saipem soaring. Belt-tightening by energy majors faced with plunging oil prices has hit shares in oil services companies, driving stocks such as Saipem and Fugro to multi-year lows. "It could be a spark for further consolidation in the industry," KBC Securities analyst Dirk Verbiesen said.

Euronext Brussels. existing CMB shares. advised by Petercam, KBC Securities, Fortis Bank and Linklaters De Bandt. confirmation of the tax neutrality of the envisaged transaction. quarter of 2004.

KBC Securities downgraded CMB to "accumulate" from "buy" because it does not expect the Belgian shipping company to significantly outperform the market. KBC said weakening U.S. dollar and a decline in shipping rates would weigh on CMB. "CMB already said that the first half of this year should be as strong as the second half of last year," KBC said in a research note. "However, with the trend clearly down and given our view on the U.S. dollar and the stock markets for this year, the CMB share is unlikely to repeat its excellent performance of 2000," KBC said, noting the roughly 70 percent price rise last year. "We do not see CMB outperforming the market significantly from here on, and therefore we have scaled back our view on CMB from 'buy' to 'accumulate'," KBC said. - (Reuters)

KBC Securities downgraded its rating on Belgian shipping company CMB SA to "accumulate", due to various factors which could pressure its business. "We have decided to downgrade CMB to 'accumulate' against the background of weakening economies, lower crude output and gradually declining shipping rates," KBC said in a research note. "We still expect CMB to post a strong 2001, but we do not see the share outperforming the market the way it has done over 2000." - (Reuters)