Container And Dry Bulk Carrier Sees Profits Decline

GREECE - Paragon Shipping Incorporated saw profits tumble but shares rise after presenting their third quarter figures this week. Operating an average just in excess of thirteen vessels the dry bulk and container operator pulled in a time charter figure of less than $23,000 per day compared to the $34,000 plus they achieved in the same period last year.

Paragon reported a profit of $4.1 million, or 8 cents a share, down from $18 million or 40 cents a share, a year earlier and when acquisitions and similar costs were excluded net revenue fell 29% to $27 million. The company has seven new ships on the blocks which will come into service over the next two years.

Commenting on the results, Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paragon Shipping said:

"We are pleased to announce our 13th consecutive profitable quarter. Our adjusted EPS of $0.17 represents a $0.04 increase compared to our previous quarter and was a result of our chartering, cost control and risk management strategies. Excluding our scheduled dry dockings, we managed to increase the third quarter's utilization rate to 99.8%.

“We took delivery of three vessels, the M/V Dream Seas and the two 2010-built containerships. Our latest acquisitions enabled us to diversify our operations into a new sector of the shipping industry with strong upside potential. Furthermore, being consistent with our fleet renewal policy, we managed to improve the average age of our fleet from 8.4 years as of January 1, 2010, to 6.3 years as of today."

With contractually fixed revenue days for the next twelve months for 98% of their vessels Paragon saw their share price rise although still down against last years high. Paragon believe the continued strength of Chinese and Indian ore markets will give them consistent, if not wildly profitable, cargo levels for the next year of trading.