MPC Container Ships suffered a drop in turnover in the third quarter. Profits fell by around a third year-on-year.
The turnover of the Oslo-listed provider of container tonnage with a focus on small to medium-sized vessels MPC Container Ships amounted to US$132.5m, a good US$50m less than in the previous year. Pre-tax earnings (EBITDA) amounted to US$84.8m compared to US$140.4m in the third quarter of 2023. Net earnings amounted to US$63.7m and fell just short of the comparable figure (US$68.2m).
The order backlog of US$1.2bn is a positive sign for the stock market offshoot of MPC Capital. The fleet of currently 56 ships (128,000 TEU) is almost fully booked for 2024 (97.3%). However, the average charter rate (TCE) fell from US$27,531 to US$26,334 per day. In the coming year, capacity utilisation is already secured on 85% of all days and at 57% in 2026.
MPC Container Ships raises its forecast
In the financial forecast for 2024, the expected revenue has been raised to between US$525 and 535m (previously: US$510 to 520m) and EBITDA to between US$345 and 355m (previously: US$335 to 350m).
“We are committed to ongoing fleet renewal with a focus on optimisation and sustainability,” says Co-CEO and CFO Moritz Fuhrmann. “We continue to pay attractive quarterly dividends and offer shareholders consistent returns.”
