Impairment charges totalling US$20.8 million sent Rickmers Maritime's earnings into the red, with net losses of $8.04 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, compared with net profit of $2.24 million a year earlier.
The company posted FY2013 profit of $23.5 million, down 15 percent from the preceding year's $27.6 million, reported Business Times Singapore.
Consistent with previous quarters, the business trust maintained
its distribution per unit (DPU) for Q4 at 0.6 US cent, to be paid on March 27.
"The trust remained operationally robust, reporting adjusted Ebitda of $26.7 million in Q4 and $104.5 million in FY2013, broadly in line with the $26.8 million and $106.2 million reported in the previous corresponding quarter and year respectively," said Rickmers.
The trust, which owns and operates container ships, cited a $2.4 million provision for vessel impairment, and goodwill impairment charges of $18.4 million for the quarter.
"The impairment totalling $20.8 million arose due to lower projected long-term charter rates, to reflect the prevailing market conditions as of Q4," said Rickmers.
Excluding the impairment loss, the company would have posted net profit of $12.7 million for the fourth quarter, up from $8.8 million a year ago.
Charter revenue for the quarter remained steady at $36.37 million, a tad higher than $36.28 million a year earlier, while FY2013 revenue dipped one percent to $143.5 million from $144.3 million due to a reduction in charter rates earned by the vessel Kaethe C. Rickmers.
"The actions we have taken in recent months, coupled with Rickmers Maritime's fundamentally strong structure, have enabled the trust to weather the challenging conditions still faced by the shipping industry. We will continue the process of strengthening our balance sheet, and positioning ourselves to take advantage of opportunities in the market when they arise", Thomas Preben Hansen, chief executive officer Rickmers Trust Management, said.
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