After spending a ninth consecutive quarter in the red
Overseas Shipholding Group has cut its dividend payouts after spending a ninth consecutive quarter in the red.
New York-listed OSG booked a reversal of $37.3m, almost unchanged from the same period a year ago.
Slicing away one-off items, the Morten Arntzen-led company’s red ink was not as deep as Wall Street has expected.
Its adjusted deficit of $36.1m, or $1.20 per share, was better than the $1.43 per share loss forecast by analysts.
Arntzen said: “International flag tanker rates remained under pressure in the second quarter, generating a disappointing quarterly result for OSG.”
He added: “The tanker industry continues to face extremely poor market conditions, exacerbated by events in Japan and Libya and, more recently, by the release of oil from the US and European strategic petroleum reserves.
“Given this environment, the board has decided to reduce the annual dividend rate to 87.5 cents per year.”
Arntzen says cutting the payout strikes the right balance between preserving cash and investing in future growth.
OSG, which has paid a dividend for 150 successive quarters, saw revenue fall by over one tenth to $207.3m year-on-year.
Income from its VLCCs was down 54% to $20,400 daily, against the $23,000 per day booked by Euronav.
Returns from OSG’s suezmaxes were two thirds lower at $13,630 daily, ahead of the $12,400 reported by its Belgian rival.
The results hit the street just hours after OSGs shares dropped to 52-week low.
Its stock closed at $23.32 a piece last night after sinking below the previous low-point of $23.66.
Source: Tradewinds