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Singapore, July 24, 2015 Mercator Lines (Singapore) Limited (“the Company” or “Mercator Singapore”), a leading Indian-owned international dry bulk shipping company focused on high growth markets such as India, Indonesia and China, today announced financial results for the first quarter of Financial Year 2015-2016 ending 31st March 2016 (FY 2016). Financial Highlights: • Revenue for Q1 FY 2016 stood at USD 8.5 million as compared to USD 16.5 million in Q1 FY 2015 • Premium of around 13% achieved on Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) rate as compared to average market rate in Q1 FY 2016 • Debt to equity ratio at 1.04 times as on June 30th, 2015 The revenue for Q1 FY 2016 was at USD 8.5 million as compared to USD 16.5 million in Q1 FY 2015. The Company reported a net loss of USD 9.9 million for the quarter as against a loss of USD 7.1 million in the corresponding period previous year. The Company achieved an excess of around 13% in the per day TCE earnings at USD 5,843 in Q1 FY 2016. The dry bulk shipping industry continues to remain volatile with the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) closing at 800 points as on 30 June 2015 as compared to 596 points as on 01 April 2015. The BDI has recovered to 1,118 points on 22 July 2015 after dropping to an unprecedented low level of 509 on 18 February 2015. The market rate for Panamax vessels closed at a rate of USD 6,734 per day as on 30 June 2015 as compared to USD 4,762 as on 01 April 2015. The average market rate for Panamax vessels for Q1 FY 2016 was USD 5,189 per day as against USD 6,304 in the corresponding period previous year. Said Mr. Shalabh Mittal, Managing Director and CEO of Mercator Singapore, “The Company continued to outperform the Baltic Panamax Index rates. We are seeing some early signs of recovery in the industry and would carefully monitor the markets to take advantage of the recent spike”. About Mercator Lines (Singapore) Limited Mercator Singapore, which commenced operations in 2005, has established a market presence in the dry bulk transport market, specializing in the transportation of dry bulk commodities such as coal, iron ore and grains. With exposure to the infrastructure sectors like Steel and Power of India and China, Mercator is well positioned to benefit from the strong growth of these countries. Its ultimate parent company, Mercator Limited (“ML India”), has diversified business interests in Coal, Oil & Gas services, Commodity Transportation and Dredging. ML India owns and operates Coal Mines in Indonesia. Coal Mining, procurement and logistics contribute majority of Mercator group revenues. The Company along with the strong support of ML India can offer complete logistics solutions for its customers from load port to the point of usage. The Company has established strong relationships with reputed customers such as Tata group, Clear lake, Rio Tinto, Arcelor Mittal, Anglo American, Louis Dreyfus, Bunge, Noble, Vitol and Marubeni to name a few. Mercator operates a fleet of thirteen dry bulk vessels, twelve owned and one chartered-in, comprising of geared and gearless Panamaxes/Post Panamaxes/Kamsarmaxes with an aggregate capacity of about 1.0 million dwt as on June 30, 2015. The average age of Mercator’s fleet is about 11 years. The geared Panamaxes with cranes built on them gives Mercator the competitive advantage in ports that have underdeveloped infrastructure such as in India and Indonesia where cranes are required to lift the cargo from the vessel to the barge. The Company won the Best Annual Report Award 2008 (Bronze) in the "$300 million to less than $1 billion market capitalisation", Best Annual Report Award 2008 (Silver) in the "Newly- Listed Companies" category and Best Annual Report (Bronze) for 2009 in the “$300 million to less than S$1 billion market capitalisation” category. In its category, the Company also won the Best Investor Relations Award (Silver) for the year 2010 and Best Investor Relations Award (Gold) for the year 2011. It was for the fourth consecutive year that the Company was awarded at the Singapore Corporate Awards for its consistent performance in ensuring good Corporate Governance. The company is ranked amongst the top public listed companies in Governance and Transparency Index (GTI). This emphasizes the Company’s drive towards better corporate governance and Investor Relations and puts the company among the most elite companies in Singapore in terms of corporate governance. In keeping with the spirit of winning accolades, the company was awarded the prestigious Emerging India Awards (EIA) under the category of “Global Entrepreneur of the Year” award in 2010 organized by CNBC-TV18 and ICICI Bank, India. The awards are based on a rigorous evaluation of the entries by CRISIL, the Indian subsidiary of Standard & Poor’s, and a panel of eminent personalities and seek to identify and honor Emerging companies who are competing and winning in the global marketplace. The Company was ranked 16th in overall performance amongst listed shipping companies in the world by Marine Money in its June/July 2012. Helmed by an experienced management team with in-depth understanding of the industry, a wide network of customer contacts and diligent risk management practices, Mercator has been able to make proactive business decisions and well-timed fleet expansion to achieve continuous growth since its inception. None of the agencies other than Mercator Lines (Singapore) Limited assumes responsibilities for contents of this announcement. Mercator Lines (Singapore) Limited, press release |
