By Lambros Karageorgou
Shares of one shipping company primarily involved in bulk cargo transports, the most depressed category in the shipping sector over the recent period, have unexpectedly posted the best stock market performance over the first quarter of 2016, followed by shares of companies operating LNG vessels.
Specifically, Star Bulk, headed by Petros Pappas, Dynagas Partners, run by Giorgos Prokopiou and Peter Livanos’ Gaslog are among the Greek-interest companies whose shares posted the best performance in the first three months of 2016, according to data by Arctic Securities. The first company’s shares were up by 24 percent on the NYSE, albeit still trading under the one-dollar per share threshold. Star Bulk closed at 0.76 cents in trading on Monday.
Recapitalization for the company is estimated at 166.5 million euros. The firm owns 76 bulk carriers, operating in a sector that is “sailing” through the worst crisis in the past 30 years.
According to reports, Star Bulk’s management has faced the recession by downsizing, i.e. selling off vessels and cancelling new ship orders, a trend apparently attracting investors’ interest.
Dynagas, which operates LNG carriers, follows on the stock chart, as its shares rose 23 percent in the first quarter of 2016, with GasLog and GasLog Partners’ shares up 21 and 19 percent, respectively.
Other shipping companies specializing in bulk cargo fared much worse, with shares of Scorpio Bulkers, Navios Maritime Partners, Genco and DryShips posting the biggest losses in share prices, according to Arctic.
Meanwhile, in terms of tankers, Tradewinds referred recently to unexpected results of certain Greek-interest companies in this specific sector. Specifically, shares of Teekay Tankers and Frontline posted significant losses, 45 percent και 43 percent, respectively, during a period deemed as favorable for oil tankers. Tsakos Energy Navigation’s share fell 24.9 percent, despite the fact that the company showed profits of 158.2 million euros in 2015, compared to 33.5 million for 2014.
In total, shares of listed shipping companies retreated by 15 percent in the first quarter of 2016.
