Tankship Owner Torm Report Lower Q1 Earnings YoY

Danish shipping company Torm reported first-quarter core earnings lower than in the same quarter last year and lowered its guidance for 2014.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) fell to $21 million from $36 million last year.

The company narrowed its expectations for the full-year, seeing core profit of between $70 million and $100 million versus an earlier forecast of $70 million to $110 million.

"The first quarter is usually a strong period for product tankers, but this year freight rate improvements were partly offset by limited arbitrage trades and continued low European demand," chief executive Jacob Meldgaard said in the statement.

(By Ole Mikkelsen;